He was “discovered” by Thanh Nhan Vo, the executive director of VATV. Vo obtained one of Tunahead Production’s short vignettes that Nguyen had produced for an older sister’s wedding. Vo loved the artistry and editing and quickly recruited Nguyen to meet organizers and members of the Vietnamese American News Network. About a decade ago, the greater Washington, D.C. area had a Vietnamese television network that rapidly used up its funds and subsequently was shut down. Nguyen remembers he was 20 to 30 years younger than the majority of the group, but still spent almost every weekend with them producing video projects.

“We wanted to produce a documentary about pho,” Nguyen explained. “They just threw me in there thinking I was this filmmaking prodigy and at the time I had no idea how to produce a documentary. The idea was there and we wanted to produce stuff for the Vietnamese people. But, that didn’t work out so we did a bunch of other smaller projects.”

Soon after, the projects and collaboration with the group became the catalyst that resurrected VATV in the nation’s capitol almost five years ago.

“I sacrificed a lot of my own time to help revive VATV,” Nguyen said.

Absolutely FOBulous
As if a full time job with his own production company, VATV and Anh Oi do not keep him busy enough, Nguyen is also the motion graphics artist and behind-the-scenes producer for Van Son Entertainment. In July, Nguyen spent a week in Orange County, Calif. preparing for the latest production of Van Son, and another week in Toronto, Canada, where the show is recorded. But, all of his traveling this past summer hasn’t kept him from releasing his newest t-shirt line for Anh Oi. This fall fans can expect to see “Be Oi,” t-shirts especially made for babies and toddlers. On the opposite spectrum, Nguyen created the first of Anh Oi t-shirts to bear only an image. The line is called, “Nguoi Dep,” a term that translated means beautiful person, but a term usually describing a woman.

Nguyen described “Nguoi Dep,” as being “inspired by some friends in the music, TV and film industry.”

“I wanted to create an image of a real Vietnamese woman with orientalizing her features. It’s a mixture of strength, mystery, and beauty,” Nguyen said.

Andy Quach, a recording artist in the Vietnamese community, is a fan and promoter of Anh Oi t-shirts, not to mention one of Nguyen’s friends on his MySpace profile. Last June, Quach made an appearance at the Diamond Club in Falls Church, Virginia and was greeted by Nguyen.

“I think [Anh Oi shirts] say, ‘hey, it’s cool to be Vietnamese,’” Quach commented about Nguyen’s shirts. A week prior to performing in Falls Church, Quach received his American citizenship, so being able to wear Nguyen’s “I am Vietnamese” t-shirt had an especially important meaning to the famous singer.

The FOBulous campaign’s positive feedback helped Nguyen connect with fans and supporters. He held a contest in which anyone could send a few “before and after” photographs of themselves, showing their symbolic transformation from the sensitive term, “FOB,” to FOBulous. Nguyen’s intention was to promote what many Vietnamese shared in common: growing up with scarce resources, but eventually finding their way and purpose to their individual successes.

Nguyen has lived a FOBulous life himself, but his parents “still tell [him] to get a real job.”

The advice the risk-taking artist yields to those in school resonates deeply with how he thinks day-to-day with his work. “To be different is to be able to stand alone even when no one sees the same thing you see and believes in the same [things] as you,” Nguyen said. “It is crucial to find the confidence in yourself and believe that what you are doing is right and has a purpose.”

[end]