Going Against The Grain: Derek Nguyen

Derek Nguyen was a 2004 fellow at the Sundance Institute’s Screenwriters Lab for the screenplay adaptation of his play, Monster (East West Players, Pas Asian Repertory Theatre, Public Theatre New Work Now, Edgar Allen Poe nomination) and a 2004 Screenwriting Fellow at the New York Foundation for the Arts. His short film, The Potential Wives of Norman Mao, which stars Ed Lin, Tina Chen, Ron Nakahara and narrated by George Takei (Star Trek), is currently on the festival circuit and has screened at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and the Short Film Corner at the Festival de Cannes. Seeing Red (co-written by Liselle Mei and directed by Joan Chen and Liselle Mei) was a part of the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival’s All-Access Alumni Program, the 2007 IFP Market’s No Borders Program and will be produced by Joyce Pierpoline (Happy Tears, Teeth) and Richard Lormand. Derek received the 2006 Urban Artist Initiative/NYC fellowship and is working on several film projects, including creative consulting on a Sundance Institute project (written and directed by Patricia Benoit), writing Noguchi with director Risa Morimoto (Wings of Defeat), and writing The Caretaker (directed by Liselle Mei). Derek was recently the Associate Producer of a short film entitled Mister Green (written and directed by Greg Pak). In theatre, Derek’s plays include Voices: A Theatrical Quilt (Sherrill C. Corwin Award), Mother’s Milk (Mark Taper Forum commission), A Slight Itch (Y2K New Voices Award) and multidisciplinary theatre piece about Bruce Lee called Lee/gendary (three 2009 New York Innovative Theatre Awards, including Best Production of a Play) starring Soomi Kim. Derek was also a Van Lier Playwriting Fellow at New York Theatre Workshop. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Full Name

Derek Nguyen

Hometown

Orange County, California

Current City

Brooklyn, New York City

Ethnicity

Vietnamese

What does it mean to you to “Go Against The Grain?”

To me, going against the grain means to defy the norm. Challenge what is expected. In a lot of ways, we have the capacity in all of us to go against the grain because we’re all so unique in ourselves. It’s just a matter of courage.

What made you decide to pursue a career in the film industry?

I’ve always been interested in the film industry but started my career as a playwright. I loved live storytelling as a kid and wanted to be a part of that world. A few years back, the Sundance Institute approached me after reading my play, Monster, and encouraged me to adapt it into a screenplay. Although I’ve always loved film, I never thought of working in the film industry until then. So I wrote the screenplay and it was admitted to the Sundance Screenwriters Lab in 2004. After that, I really started to embrace filmmaking and began meeting people who ended up helping me learn more about this luscious world. I didn’t stop writing and started collaborating with some amazing filmmakers that helped shape my voice.

What have been some of the challenges you faced/lessons you learned as an Asian American in this field?

I feel that Asian American films are under-represented in the mainstream right now. And it’s a challenge to get audiences to hear our stories. I think Asian American filmmakers need more opportunities to grow and have producers trust our filmmakers more with larger budgets and expanding our stories to include subjects outside the immigrant story. I have a lot of hope for the future of Asian American film and I’ve had the honor of working or meeting some filmmakers in the forefront of this upcoming revolution. I think the future of Asian American film will be largely dependent on Asian American producers. There are plenty of filmmakers out there that have amazing ideas, great stories and infinite talent. But it’s a matter of getting producers to make it happen.

What do you feel is your biggest accomplishment, and why?

I think that getting my parents to support my decision to become an artist is one of my biggest accomplishments. At first, they were resistant of my going into theatre and film. They’d say, “How are you going to make money? You’re going to be poor! We didn’t sacrifice and cross oceans for you to be poor!” But they were able to come around. Now they even come to see my films and plays. And sometimes, they enjoy them!

What’s up next?

A film that I wrote and directed called The Potential Wives of Norman Mao is currently on the festival circuit, having already stopped at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and the Short Film Corner at the Festival de Cannes. I will be traveling to screen it in other U.S. cities in the coming months. A feature film I co-wrote called Seeing Red is slated to go into production this year, and I’m hoping to finish writing a feature that I’d like to direct next. But for now, I have my hands full with The Potential Wives of Norman Mao. You can find out more about it by visiting www.normanmao.com.

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Going Against The Grain: Derek Nguyen

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