Derek Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American filmmaker and playwright best known for his 2016 feature film '' The Housemaid (Cô Hầu Gái)'', which was shot in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and produced by CJ E&M Film Division, HKFilm, and Timothy Linh Bui.

Early life and education

Nguyen was born on February 19, 1973, in Saigon (currently

Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

), Vietnam. In April 1975, his family left Vietnam for the United States as refugees of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

during the

Fall of Saigon The fall of Saigon, known in Vietnam as Reunification Day (), was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by North Vietnam on 30 April 1975. As part of the 1975 spring offensive, this decisive event led to the collapse of the So ...

. After being

boat people Vietnamese boat people () were refugees who fled Vietnam by boat and ship following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. This migration and humanitarian crisis was at its highest in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but continued well into the earl ...

, Nguyen’s family settled in

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

, where Nguyen spent his childhood. Nguyen studied at

UC Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an independent teachers college, UCSB joined ...

earning an undergraduate degree in Dramatic Arts, and attended the Film Producing Certificate Program at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

’s School of Continuing & Professional Studies.

Career

Nguyen began his career as a playwright. His play ''Monster'' was produced at East West Players, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre., and

Public Theatre The Public Theater is an arts organization in New York City. Founded by Joseph Papp, The Public Theater was originally the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954; its mission was to support emerging playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: A ...

New Work Now, and received an

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

nomination for Best Play by the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the E ...

. In 2004, the

Sundance Institute Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by actor Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and compo ...

encouraged Nguyen to adapt the play into a film. Subsequently, Nguyen wrote the screenplay and participated in the 2004 Sundance Screenwriters Lab. In 2007, Nguyen collaborated with theater artist Soomi Kim on ''Lee/gendary'', a multidisciplinary theater piece about the life and death of Bruce Lee. It received three 2009

New York Innovative Theatre Awards The New York Independent Theater Awards (also known as NYIT Awards and IT Awards) are accolades given annually by The League of Independent Theater to honor individuals and organizations who have achieved artistic excellence in Off-Off-Broadway ...

, including Best Production of a Play for its run at the HERE Arts Center in New York City. Nguyen’s 2011 short film, ''The Potential Wives of Norman Mao'', starred

Ed Lin Ed Lin is a Taiwanese-American writer, actor and novelist. He is the first author to win three Asian American Literary Awards. His first novel, ''Waylaid'' (2002) won a Members' Choice Award at the Asian American Literary Awards and also a Bo ...

, Tina Chen, Cindy Cheung, Ron Nakahara, and was narrated by

George Takei George Takei ( ; born April20, 1937), born , is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS ''Enterprise'' in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. Takei was born to Japanese-American parents, with w ...

. It screened at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

Short Film Corner, LA Shorts Fest, and the Asian American International Film Festival, among others. In 2015, Nguyen wrote and directed ''The Housemaid'' (''Cô Hầu Gái'' in Vietnamese), a gothic romance horror film set in 1953 Vietnam during the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam, and alternatively internationally as the French-Indochina War) was fought between French Fourth Republic, France and Việ ...

. It tells the story of an orphaned country girl who falls in love with the French landowner at a haunted rubber plantation. Produced by HKFilm Vietnam, CJ E&M Film Division, and Timothy Linh Bui, the film has been released in 19 territories around the world and is the third-highest-grossing horror movie in Vietnam. It had its North American premiere at the 2017

Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episodi ...

. In 2019, Nguyen co-founded the production company ''The Population'' with producers Mynette Louie and Mollye Asher.

Filmography

* ''Futurestates: Mr. Green'' (2010, short) – Associate Producer * ''The Potential Wives of Norman Mao'' (2011, short) – Writer, Director, Producer * '' Addicted to Fresno'' (2015) – Associate Producer * '' The Housemaid'' (2016) – Writer, Director * '' Lovesong'' (2016) – Associate Producer * '' Buster's Mal Heart'' (2016) – Associate Producer * ''

The Tale ''The Tale'' is a 2018 American drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Jennifer Fox (documentary filmmaker), Jennifer Fox and starring Laura Dern, Ellen Burstyn, Jason Ritter, Elizabeth Debicki, Isabelle Nélisse, Common ...

'' (2018) – Associate Producer * '' The Long Dumb Road'' (2018) – Associate Producer * '' Catch the Fair One'' (2021) – Executive Producer * ''The Resemblance'' (2022, short) – Writer, Director

Awards

* 1998–99 Van Lier Emerging Artists of Color Playwriting Fellowship at

New York Theatre Workshop __NOTOC__ New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) is an Off-Broadway theater noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 East 4th Street between Second Avenue and Bowery in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, it h ...

* 1999 Y2K New Voices Play Competition Winner at East West Players * 2003

Nomination for Best Full-Length Play (''Monster'') * 2004

New York Foundation for the Arts The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is an independent 501(c)(3) charity, funded through government, foundation, corporate, and individual support, established in 1971. It is part of a network of national not-for-profit arts organizations ...

Fellowship * 2004

’s Screenwriters Lab * 2006 Urban Artist Initiative Screenwriting Grant * 2009

Winner. Best Production of a Play, Best Director, and Best Featured Actress for ''Lee/gendary'' (Writer) * 2013 Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) Fellowship * 2020 The Starfish Accelerator Fellowship * 2022 Future Gold Film Fellowship, presented by Tribeca Studios,

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

, and Gold House

References

External links

Review of early work in ''L.A. Times''Derek Nguyen interview in ''Asia Life Magazine''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nguyen, Derek Film directors from California 1973 births Living people Vietnamese emigrants to the United States American film directors of Vietnamese descent Writers from Ho Chi Minh City Film directors from Ho Chi Minh City American LGBTQ film directors LGBTQ film producers American LGBTQ people of Asian descent American male dramatists and playwrights American LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights American LGBTQ screenwriters Vietnamese LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights Vietnamese LGBTQ screenwriters