Nadine Truong is a director, writer and photographer. She received her MFA in directing from the

American Film Institute Conservatory The AFI Conservatory is a private non-profit graduate film school in the Hollywood Hills district of Los Angeles. Students (called "Fellows") learn from the masters in a collaborative, hands-on production environment with an emphasis on storyte ...

Short films

Her directorial credits include ''Chopsticks'' (which was premiered at the 2007 Vietnamese International Film Festival), ''The Muse'' (a dramatic short produced under the Visual Communications' "Armed with a Camera" Fellowship for Emerging Media Artists) which was also screened at the

Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) – formerly known as VC FilmFest – is an annual film festival presented by Visual Communications (VC). It was established in 1983 by Linda Mabalot as a vehicle to promote Asian Pacific Amer ...

and which was nominated for the VC Golden Reel Award for Best Narrative Short Film, ''One Never Knows'', ''Mine'', ''Sushi'', ''Eggbaby'' (2009), ''Shadow Man'' (2009) and ''Initiation'' (2009), which stars David Lee McInnis, Christopher Dinh, Tim Chiou,

Kathy Uyen Kathy Uyen (also known as Kathy Uyen Nguyen) is a Vietnamese American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She has twice been the recipient of Vietnamese film industry Golden Kite Awards as Best Supporting Actress in Victor Vu's '' Passport to L ...

and Jerry Ying. Truong is the recipient of The George C. Lin Emerging Filmmaker Award from the

San Diego Asian Film Festival The San Diego Asian Film Festival (SDAFF) is an annual film festival in San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, ...

in 2010, for her short films ''Shadow Man'' and ''Eggbaby'', and a recipient of a Visual Communications "Armed With A Camera" Fellowship for Emerging Media Artists in 2007, which she used to create the short film ''The Muse''. Truong also received a Mary Pickford Scholarship for Excellence in Directing from

The American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

Feature films

''Someone I Used to Know''

Truong directed her first feature film in 2012 previously titled ''nightdreamblues'' but was re-titled ''Someone I Used to Know'', written by West Liang, and starring Brian Yang, Eddie Mui, Emily Chang, West Liang,

Tzi Ma Tzi Ma (;) is a Hong Kong-American actor. He has appeared in television shows including '' The Man in the High Castle'' and '' 24'', and films including ''Dante's Peak'', ''Rush Hour'', ''Rush Hour 3'', '' Arrival'', '' The Farewell'', ''Tiger ...

and

Diana Lee Inosanto Diana Lee Inosanto is an American actress, director, former stunt performer, and Martial arts, martial artist. She also wrote and directed the film ''The Sensei'' (2008), and wrote the 2020 children's book ''The Curious Mind of Sebastian''. Per ...

. The film was premiered at the 2013 CAAMFest, formerly known as the

San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival CAAMFest, known prior to 2013 as the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), is presented every May (Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month) in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States as the nation's ...

, and was described as "a bittersweet drama" that is "a new-millennium remix of such classic eighties' ensemble dramas as ''

The Breakfast Club ''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American independent teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. The ensemble cast includes Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ring ...

'' and '' St. Elmo's Fire''." It was also screened at the 2013

and the 2013

Asian American International Film Festival The Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) is the first and longest-running film festival to showcase the works of emerging and experienced Asian and Asian American filmmakers and media artists in the US. The programming includes a div ...

in New York City, drawing further comparisons to the films '' Less than Zero'', ''

The Anniversary Party ''The Anniversary Party'' is a 2001 American comedy drama film written, directed, produced by, and starring Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming, both making their respective feature directorial debuts. It is Phoebe Cates's final film appearance ...

'' and ''

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of middle-aged couple Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they rece ...

''.

''Senior Project''

In 2013, Truong directed a feature film entitled ''

Senior Project A culminating project (also known as a senior project, grad project or exit project), is a project that challenges high school seniors to demonstrate their academic knowledge in an experiential way (in most cases). According to the United States ...

'', written by a 16-year-old Hong Kong high school student named Jeremy Lin (not the basketball player). Fabienne Wen and her daughter Ellie Wen (who wrote and produced

Quentin Lee Quentin Lee (; born 1971) is a Hong Kong-born Canadian-American film writer, director, and producer. He is most notable for the television series ''Comedy InvAsian'' and feature films ''The People I've Slept With'' (2009), ''Ethan Mao'' (2004), ...

's ''

White Frog ''White Frog'' is a 2012 American comedy-drama film directed by Quentin Lee and written by Fabienne Wen. The film's plot follows neglected 16-year-old Nick Young, played by Booboo Stewart, a teenager with autism spectrum disorder whose life is ch ...

'') produced the film through their banner Itsy Bitsy Productions, along with

Stephane Gauger Stephane Gauger (August 30, 1969 – January 11, 2018) was a Vietnamese-born American film director, screenwriter and cinematographer. Biography Born in Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon, South Vietnam to an American civilian contractor and his Vietnamese ...

(''

Saigon Electric ''Saigon Electric,'' also known as ''Sài Gòn Yo!'', is a 2011 Vietnamese hip hop film directed by Stephane Gauger. It was released on 22 April 2011 in larger cities and provinces in Vietnam, including Hanoi, Saigon, Da Nang and Can Tho Can may ...

'') and Yaron Kaplan. The film stars

Ryan Potter Ryan Potter (born Ryan Kenichi Hagimoto; September 12, 1995) is an American actor. He made his acting debut as the lead of the Nickelodeon action comedy series ''Supah Ninjas'' (2011–2013). As a voice actor, he voiced Hiro Takachiho, Hiro Ham ...

(who plays the main character, Mike Fukanaga on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

's ''

Supah Ninjas ''Supah Ninjas'' is an American action superhero teen sitcom, created by Leo Chu and Eric Garcia. The series aired on Nickelodeon from January 17, 2011 to April 27, 2013. It ran for 2 seasons. The series follows three high school friends—Mi ...

'') as the primary protagonist, "Peter",

Vanessa Marano Vanessa Nicole Marano (born October 31, 1992) is an American actress and producer. She has starred in television movies and had recurring roles in such series as ''Without a Trace'', ''Gilmore Girls'', ''Malcolm in the Middle'', ''Ghost Whispere ...

(

ABC Family American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...

's '' Switched at Birth'') as "Sam",

Meaghan Martin Meaghan Jette Martin () (born February 17, 1992) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in film, television, and theatre. She is best known for her starring role in the ABC Family television series, '' 10 Things I Hate About Yo ...

(the main character, Jo, in ''

Mean Girls 2 ''Mean Girls 2'' is a 2011 American teen comedy television film directed by Melanie Mayron and written by Cliff Ruby, Elana Lesser, and Allison Schroeder. It is a sequel to the 2004 film ''Mean Girls.'' The film stars Meaghan Martin, Maiara Wal ...

'', ABC's ''

10 Things I Hate About You ''10 Things I Hate About You'' is a 1999 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Gil Junger in his film directorial debut and starring Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gabrielle Union, and Larisa Oleynik. The scree ...

'') as "Natalia",

Sterling Beaumon Sterling Beaumon is an American actor and producer. He is known for his roles as Max Doyle in the 2008 film, ''Mostly Ghostly (film), Mostly Ghostly'', and as young Benjamin Linus in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television series, ' ...

('' Lost'', ''

Red Widow ''Red Widow'' is an American drama television series created by Melissa Rosenberg, starring Radha Mitchell and Goran Visnjic. On May 11, 2012, ABC picked up ''Red Widow'' as a series. The series ran from March 3 to May 5, 2013 and aired on Sund ...

'') as "Spencer",

Kyle Massey Kyle Orlando Massey (born August 28, 1991), also known mononymously as Massey, is an American former actor and rapper. He starred in the Disney Channel sitcoms ''That's So Raven'' and its spin-off ''Cory in the House'', in which he played Cory ...

(''

That's So Raven ''That's So Raven'' is an American television fantasy teen sitcom that was created by Michael Poryes and Susan Sherman, and aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between January 2003 and November 2007. The series centers on Raven Baxter ( ...

'', ''

Cory in the House ''Cory in the House'' is an American television sitcom which aired on the Disney Channel from January 12, 2007, to September 12, 2008, and was a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the Disney Channel series ''That's So Raven''. The show focuses o ...

'') as "Andy", the ''YouTube'' star Lana McKissack as "Jill" and the stand-up comedian and actor

Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, actress and musician. In her Stand-up comedy, stand-up routines she critiques social and political problems, especially about race and sexuality. She starred in the Ame ...

as "Ms. Ghetty".

''I Can I Will I Did''

In 2017, Truong wrote and directed the feature film ''I Can I Will I Did'' about a depressed foster youth named Ben (

Mike Faist Michael David Faist (; born January 5, 1992) is an American actor. He is the recipient of a Grammy and a Daytime Emmy Award, with nominations for a Tony and a British Academy Film Award. An alumnus of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, ...

of ''Challengers, Westside Story, Dear Evan Hansen'') who is bullied and, as a result, eventually is in a car accident. His recovery process is slow, until he meets Adrienne, a fellow patient at the hospital who breathes hope into his life and introduces him to her grandfather, taekwondo master Kang (Ik Jo Kang). Kang not only teaches him how to walk and has him back on his feet, but also how to take charge of his own life. Ik Jo Kang is also a taekwondo master in real-life. The film won an Audience Award at the 2017

and also Best Feature and Best Supporting Actress (

Selenis Leyva Selenis Leyva (born May 26, 1972) is an American actress. She began her career appearing in Off-Broadway productions and had supporting roles on television, before her breakthrough role as List of Orange Is the New Black characters#Gloria Mendoza, ...

) at the 2017 Sunscreen Film Festival.

Background

Truong was born in Germany and now lives in Los Angeles. She received a B.A. degree in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

and a MFA in directing at the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

.''Id.'' Truong is married to the actor and producer Brian Yang.

References

External links

*
Someone I Used to Know Official PageNadine Truong's Official SiteNadine Truong's BlogNadine Truong on VimeoNadine Truong on Alive Not DeadNadine Truong on Asians on Film: Delving Deep, Creating Moments and Guiding the Process
{{DEFAULTSORT:Truong, Nadine Living people German emigrants to the United States Film directors from California Year of birth missing (living people)