Kevin Truong

Kevin Truong is a documentary filmmaker, photographer and journalist. He first received recognition for his work with The Gay Men Project, a photo project in which he has documented the lives of gay and queer men across 37 countries. As a journalist, he has worked for NBC Digital at NBC News, Motherboard Tech by VICE,  and Student Reporting Labs at PBS NewsHour. His work often explores the LGBTQ and Asian American experiences. Kevin is currently working on his first feature length film, a personal documentary about his mother and her experiences with the War in Vietnam. Although this is Kevin’s first time working as a director, he brings to it over ten years of experience in visual storytelling and five years of experience in journalistic practice. Kevin has a B.S. in Economics from Portland State University, a B.F.A. in Photography from Pratt Institute and a M.A. in Journalism with a specialization in documentary filmmaking from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.

Mai American

A 70-year-old Vietnamese American refugee living in Oregon confronts the traumas of her past. As she shares her story with her filmmaker son, they are both led down an emotional journey of healing that takes them to a country she hadn’t seen since fleeing as a young woman. 

Filmed over the course of ten years, “Mai American” is an exploration of intergenerational trauma within families, the mythologies that are built within family histories and the dynamics between parent and child. Told against the backdrop of the broader Asian American and immigrant experience, and nearly 50 years after the end of the War in Vietnam, the film is an intimate portrayal of an American immigrant woman, her family and the power of a woman’s story—a power that can often be forgotten or overlooked by even her own children.