Sometimes a project is so close to you that you can’t bring yourself to finish it. Even after countless hours of editing there’s always something you can add or change to help it get to a “finished” state that doesn’t really exist. You only get one chance to tell your story the right way.
Michelle and I filmed “Gardening with Auntie” back in 2018 as a “practice run” that become an entire project in and of itself. Auntie was born in pre-war Vietnam. She stayed behind as many of her sisters fled for better lives in America. Years later, she would be reunited with them there. Gardening with Auntie tells the story of her life, her joys, and her struggles.
Allow me to take you back to 2018. Before Covid. Before AI everything. This is a story about war. About family. About new beginnings. It’s about capturing those memories, and moments, and feelings that we lose between generations.
I’ve chosen world refugee day to finally put this out into the world as a way to honor and remember those who have made the journey, and those we’ve lost along the way.