Presented in five chapters, Southeast Asian American Journeys explores the intergenerational stories of local SEAA refugee communities who, while being shaped by their resettlement journeys, have transformed the landscape of which they are a fundamental part. Produced in partnership with Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) and the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM).
Quyên N-L (Nguyễn-Lê) is a Daytime Emmy nominated queer vietnamese filmmaker born to boat refugee parents where Chumash and Kizh lands meet in Los Ángeles, California. Now based in the Twin Cities, Minnesota (Dakota and Anishinaabe land). Quyên's film work – spanning between documentary, video installation, and scripted genres – focuses on the ways histories are deeply felt in the quotidian everyday. Their films have been on international screens big and small in Vietnam, Japan, Senegal, Cambodia, France, Germany, Australia, Canada, the U.K., the U.S., and now, for the first time, in Hungary.
This special screening is organized by Lunar Space (Holdtér), a Hungarian-Vietnamese diaspora organization located in Budapest focusing on diaspora art and cultural visibility. The event is the first of many to bring never-seen-before artworks from the periphery to the light, and in this case, to the big screen.
After the screening we will host a conversation with Quyên N-L, the director of the films, Nguyễn Thanh Hiền, Budapest-born Brooklyn-based Vietnamese artist and musician, and cultural researcher Le Virág Mai Lan.
Together, we’ll reflect on the films and explore Vietnamese diasporic identity, with a particular focus on the different experiences and perspectives of Vietnamese communities in Hungary and the United States.