New Wave
In collaboration with a socio-cultural organisation with roots in the Laotian, Vietnamese, and Cambodian diaspora, we are presenting two strands of contemporary cinema addressing the political and cultural history of the late 20th century. One film, directed by Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh, looks back at the years of Pol Pot’s regime, while the other focuses on the New Wave years of Vietnamese pop music.
Mile-high hair. Synthesized sounds. Teenage rebellion. Elizabeth Ai was on a mission to excavate an untold story of rebellious punks in the chaotic world of 80s Vietnamese New Wave until she uncovers a hidden past.
Elizabeth Ai
Elizabeth Ai is a Chinese-Vietnamese-American Los Angeles based Emmy award-winning producer. She writes, directs, and produces independent narratives as well as branded content for companies such as National Geographic, ESPN, and VICE. She produced documentary features Dirty Hands: The Art & Crimes Of David Choe (2008), on the titled artist after his prison release and before his meteoric rise, and A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem (2019), which examines wage theft and exploitation of the only visible NFL women. Additionally, she produced Saigon Electric (2011), a feature narrative set in Vietnam’s world of breakdancing. During her tenure at VICE, she created the original pilot for Bong Appétit (2014), which got picked up for series on Viceland. She’s currently directing and producing two in-progress feature documentaries and has a slate of narratives in development. She’s a fellow of Berlin Talent Campus, Film Independent, Sundance, and Tribeca. She received her B.A. from the University of Southern California.
Photo: Yudi Echevarria
Presented in collaboration with
