Steve Nguyen

Steve Nguyen (born December 30, 1985) is a Vietnamese-American director, writer, artist and film producer. Nguyen and fellow director Choz Belen formed Studio APA, a multimedia collective that specializes in the production of animated films, children's books and music videos.

Steve Nguyen
Steve Nguyen speaking at USC
Born (1985-12-30) December 30, 1985
Torrance, California, U.S.
Occupation
  • film director
  • producer
  • screenwriter
  • artist
  • animator
Years active2005–present
Notable work
Hibakusha
Websitesteve-nguyen.com

Career

Films

From 2001 to 2005, Nguyen has made appearances as a young actor on films and network television programs such as Las Vegas, Scrubs, Freaks and Geeks, Are You Afraid of the Dark? and The Man Show. He worked as a production assistant at Universal Pictures on Jarhead and The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift.

In 2009, Nguyen directed and produced a short documentary film titled "The Making of a Memoir" in collaboration with Vietnamese author Lac Su to promote his HarperCollins published memoir, I Love Yous Are For White People.[1][2] The documentary helped Su gain national exposure and has been featured on CNN,[3] NPR,[4] the Saigon Broadcasting Television Network, and KSCI.

Nguyen directed and produced an animated film, Hibakusha, which chronicles the early life of Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor, Kaz Suyeishi.[5][6] The film stars Karin Anna Cheung, Connie Lim, Daisuke Suzuki, Jane Lui and William Frederick Knight as the lead voice actors. The film was dedicated to the American Society of Hiroshima-Nagasaki A-Bomb Survivors in an effort to spread awareness for nuclear disarmament and was completed on the 67th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing, August 6, 2012.[7] Nguyen and the Studio APA crew have toured with Hibakusha throughout the United States since October 2012, and the film has been screened at the Japanese American National Museum,[8] Vietnamese International Film Festival,[9] Wing Luke Museum in Seattle, Dragon Con in Atlanta,[10] University of Michigan,[11] UCLA, UC Irvine,[12] UC San Diego, San Diego State University, UC Davis, UC Riverside, DisOrient Film Festival, University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, and California State University, Fullerton. Hibakusha received the Special Achievement Award and Best Animated Short in 2013 at the International Uranium Film Festival held in Rio de Janeiro.[13]

In association with the nuclear disarmament campaign, Global Zero, Nguyen hosted a travel documentary segment titled "Hiroshima Revisited" as a follow-up effort to commemorate the 68th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing.[14][15]

Illustration and books

On June 2020, Nguyen released his first children's book with Skyhorse Publishing and Simon and Schuster titled To Baby From Daddy, which features his own illustrations and personal composition of paternal love and advice to his baby daughter.[16]

Online Media

Along with Kevin Hsieh, Nguyen was the co-founder of ChannelAPA.com, a defunct online news source that started in 2008 that posted current news updates and video interviews about Asian Americans in mainstream/independent media. According to KoreAm Magazine and Myx TV, it was featured as one of the top Asian American news sources to follow.[17] On November 2012, Nguyen and Belen launched a multi-media creative collective called Studio APA that serves as both a film production and dedicated YouTube channel.

In 2010, Nguyen directed YouTube singer-songwriter Megan Lee's music video for her first official single, "Love, Laugh, & Live".[18]

On February 4, 2013, Nguyen produced and released a short film with The Jubilee Project and Jeremy Lin titled "The Last Pick," which can be viewed on Lin's personal YouTube channel.[19] In November 2013, it was announced on Allkpop that Nguyen and Korean hip-hop artists, Tiger JK and Yoon Mi-rae, have collaborated on an animated music video for their single, "Turn It Up", which is featured on CHOPS' upcoming album, Strength in Numbers. The full version of the music video was released on January 15, 2014.[20]

On April 18, 2014, Nguyen, Belen, and Queens-based rapper Awkwafina released an animated lyric video for her single, 'Flu Shot', off of her Yellow Ranger debut album.[21]

On September 28, 2015, Nguyen premiered a collaboration project with the global campaign, A World at School, titled, R I S E, at The Town Hall in New York City.[22] In association with Christian hip hop artist Lecrae and the help of Theirworld founder Sarah Brown, the project was created to raise awareness and to pressure governments to act on providing universal education across the globe.[23] Since early 2015, he has served as a Global Ambassador to the nonprofit, Theirworld, to help bring awareness to the cause and share global youth stories through graphic novelization.[24]

Nguyen and Belen collaborated with Los Angeles electro-pop band, Mansions on the Moon, to produce a music video for their upcoming single, "Heart of the Moment". The project was released in October 2015.[25]

On January 2017, Studio APA released the animated visuals for K-pop star Ailee's US debut, "Fall Back", via Vevo in conjunction with Westside Entertainment.[26]

On January 23, 2020, Nguyen released a personal short animated documentary on his Facebook account titled Blast Burn that deals with the miscarriage of his son.

Filmography

Film
Year Title Credits Notes Ref
2005 The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift Script coordinator
2005 Noah's Arc Post-production coordinator Assisting Editor
2005 Code Monkeys Writing assistant
2008 The Making of a Memoir Director Producer & Writer
2009 Party Down Production coordinator
2010 Kill Joy (short film) Producer
2010 Dilated (short film) Producer
2012 Hibakusha Director Producer & Writer [27]
2012 Raskal Love Producer
2013 The Last Pick Producer
2013 Hiroshima Revisited Producer Host & Narrator
2014 Dark House Producer
2020 Blast Burn (short film) Director Producer & Writer

Music Videos
Year Title Artist Director Other Notes Ref.
2011 "Diamond Bars" David A. Romero Yes Director of photography
2011 "Love, Laugh & Live" Megan Lee Yes Yes Director of photography
2014 "Turn It Up" CHOPS, Tiger JK and Yoon Mi-rae Yes Co-directed with Choz Belen
2014 Flu Shot Awkwafina Yes Co-directed with Choz Belen
2015 R I S E Lecrae Yes
2015 Heart of the Moment Mansions on the Moon Yes Co-directed with Choz Belen
2017 Fall Back Ailee Yes Co-directed with Choz Belen

Publications
  • Steve Nguyen (2020). To Baby, From Daddy: A Love Letter from a Father to a Daughter. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1510745995.

References
  1. Gillian MacKenzie Agency (August 24, 2009). "I Love Yous Are for White People". Retrieved August 24, 2009.
  2. Asakawa, Gil. "visualizAsian.com has three great interviews coming up: Filmmaker Lane Nishikawa, Angry Asian Man Phil Yu & author Lac Su". Retrieved October 14, 2009.
  3. "CNN Newsroom : CNN Official Interview: Lac Su: 'I love yous are for white people'". Retrieved January 20, 2011.
  4. MARTIN, MICHAEL (February 21, 2011). "Author: 'I Love You's Are For White People'".
  5. Thought, Gifted. "What is "HIBAKUSHA"?". Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  6. Choy, Ken. "'Hibakusha' Keeps Hiroshima-Nagasaki Voices Alive". Hyphen Magazine. Hyphen. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  7. Mainuddin, Waseem. "Hibakusha: Hope and Peace in the Aftermath of Nuclear Destruction". OurChinatown.org. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
  8. Fukuda, Keiko. "Presenting HIBAKUSHA to the World: Animated film conveys the hibakusha experience". Retrieved November 28, 2012.
  9. "'NORWEGIAN WOOD,' 'HIBAKUSHA' AT VIETNAMESE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL". Rafu Shimpo. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
  10. "Dragon Con Independent Film Festival – Hibakusha". Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  11. Nahata, Harsha. "Harsha Nahata: Activate the 'quiet' generation". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
  12. Pham, Phuc. "Kaz Suyeishi Presents "Hibakusha"". New University. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
  13. "Hibakusha". uraniumfilmfestival.org. Archived from the original on February 7, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
  14. "ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE ATOMIC BOMB: HIROSHIMA REVISITED". angryasianman.com. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
  15. Murakami-Tsuda, Vicky (September 3, 2013). "Hiroshima Revisited: Interview with Steve Nguyen". Discover Nikkei. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  16. Nguyen, Steve (May 19, 2020). To Baby, From Daddy. ISBN 978-1-5107-4599-5.
  17. Eun, Elizabeth (November 10, 2010). "In Blog We Trust: Part III of III". Character Media. KoreAm. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  18. "Megan Lee reveals MV for new song "Love, Laugh & Live"". allkpop. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  19. "Jeremy Lin's Youtube Page". YouTube. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  20. "MV for CHOPS' 'Turn It Up' ft. Tiger JK and Yoon Mi Rae released". allkpop. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  21. "New Video: Awkwafina 'Flu Shot'". VIBE Magazine. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  22. "#UpForSchool Town Hall blog: 10 million people stand up for education". AWorldAtSchool.org. September 28, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  23. "A Chibok girl recalls her escape from Boko Haram". New York Times. September 30, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  24. "New comic series illustrates the power of our Global Youth Ambassadors". Theirworld. May 3, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  25. "Mansions on the Moon Premieres 'Heart Of The Moment' Video Starring Lindsey Haun". Billboard. October 14, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  26. "[Single & MV Review] A.Leean – 'Fall Back'". allkpop. January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  27. "Remembering Hiroshima Through Cinema". Golden Globes. August 6, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
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