March is Women’s History Month, so what better way to celebrate than with a film festival supporting and encouraging women in front of and behind the camera? The Women’s Film Festival is celebrating its second year of providing films from all over the world that celebrate the power of female expression. The festival runs from March 11-13 so get your tickets now! We had a chance to speak to one of the festival’s founding mothers, Phuong Nguyen.
PGN: So how did the festival get started?
PN: I met Layne Marie Williams in a bathroom at The Landmark; I’d overheard her talking about films so I introduced myself and told her that I ran the Asian Arts Film Festival and we exchanged cards. She messaged me the following Monday and we made arrangements to have lunch. She had a three-women production company — very grassroots — and they were getting ready to shoot a psychological thriller she’d written called “Trigger Happy Dagger” about a woman trying to get over a painful heartbreak and her mental state. We were trying to figure out where she’d be able to showcase the film when it was complete. She didn’t fit into the Asian American Film Festival or BlackStar, and the Philadelphia Film Fest is hard to get into unless you’re like, a Sundance-caliber film. I said, “Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a women’s film festival in Philadelphia?” and we both had the lightbulb switch on. So we started it. We made good co-founders because I’m more of the business side of things and she’s more familiar with the creative side. The first year was successful; we partnered with the Greater Philadelphia Film Office, Mike Lemon Casting, Philadelphia Independent Film & Video Associate, Philadelphia Women in Film and Television and other community partners.
PGN: Wow, that’s great.
PN: Yeah, we accomplished a lot in a small amount of time. We got the idea in October and put the festival on last March. We’ve grown already this year. We’ve received submissions from all over the world — Norway, Australia, the UK, you name it. It’s allowed us to have even more diverse programming this year. We have returning sponsors and have added new community partners as well. We have nine full-length features, two panels and 25 short films. Our hope is that we grow a little more each year!
PGN: Where are the films being screened?
PN: We’re going to be in the Caplan Theater at the University of the Arts.
PGN: That’s a great little theater. We screened qFLIX films there and it was really nice.
PN: Yeah, it’s in a good area, with nicely cushioned seats, good sound and projection.
PGN: So let’s talk about you. Are you from Philly?
PN: I’m originally from Lancaster, Pa., so I’m a little bit of a country girl.
PGN: How rural was the part you were in?
PN: Well, Lancaster is interesting. It has its farming areas and it has the city. I was part of the school district of Lancaster but we lived sort of in the suburbs, near a bunch of farms.
PGN: What did your folks do?
PN: My parents emigrated from Vietnam in 1975 with little education. Neither of them had a high-school diploma so they both did factory work. My mom used to be a seamstress and was very good at it until companies in the United States started outsourcing everything.
PGN: So did your mom teach you to sew so you can sew costumes for any productions you work on?
PN: She did teach me and I was good when I was younger but I haven’t tried since I was a teenager. But she has about six or seven industrial machines at home in the garage.
PGN: Any siblings?
PN: I have an older sister and two older brothers. I’m the baby of the family, and the only one without kids. My path has always been more school- and career-focused.
PGN: [Laughs] But which career? You have enough degrees to go for several!
PN: Ha. Well, I originally went to college for biochem, thinking that I was going to be a doctor, but ever since I was a kid, I always admired people in the arts. I just never had the guts to try performing until my last year in high school, when I was in some one-act plays and the school musical. I’d always run spotlight and been on the stage crew but I finally tried out for a show and did really well. But when I went to college, there was a lot of pressure, especially in the Asian culture, to make money, so I took biology and then psychology and graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology with a minor in theater from Temple, and then got a master’s degree at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Organizational Development and Leadership. But theater was a big part of me. I just didn’t have the courage to major in it. Psychology was my fallback plan!
PGN: What was a favorite class?
PN: As an undergrad, I took a creative-writing class. I didn’t think I was going to like it but I found the exercises got me to open my imagination. I’d go to the park and just sit and observe details to see if I could make a story. To my surprise, my teacher told me I should consider a minor in writing! She said that my stories started out normal but always had an interesting twist at the end! Someday I’ll go back to it.
PGN: What was a favorite role you played?
PN: Well, there weren’t many roles for Asian-Americans at my school so it was mostly just scene work in class. I’d say Lillian from “The Children’s Hour.” The other was Blanche from “A Streetcar Named Desire.” What I really enjoyed were the acting exercises. Have you ever done one called Three Entrances? You come in doing the exact same thing each time but with a different emotion or back story. It’s silent, no talking, the idea being that every story is continuous; in any role there’s always a past and a future, so what kind of energy are you bringing into a scene? It’s not my primary goal but I wouldn’t mind doing some acting again, just for fun. But something with depth, something psychological where I could try to figure the character out. I think my acting skills consist of being alone in my room staring in the mirror and going to another place with the character. That sounds weird.
PGN: Not at all. When I was a kid, we had a big three-way mirror like in the department-store dressing rooms and I’d play in front of that thing for hours.
PN: When I was a kid, I wanted to be Batman … or Batwoman, just not a girly Batwoman. I wanted to be one that was tough, with a utility belt.
PGN: What was a favorite thing to do with the family?
PN: We would drive across the country to Wichita, Ks., to visit my aunt and other family there. What a random place for Asian people to be. I always loved the car ride there and back. Just being outside of Pennsylvania was exciting.
PGN: [Laughs] More random than Asians in Amish country?
PN: There’s actually a big Asian community in Lancaster and in Harrisburg!
PGN: What was your favorite toy as a kid?
PN: I liked to take things apart and I had a small car that I’d pull apart and then I’d use the motor to try to make other inventions with it.
PGN: So back to now. What are you doing currently?
PN: I’m currently the manager of development and communications at the Asian Arts Initiative and the development director of the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival. I also do a lot of work with films and film-production companies, but right now I’m focusing on the Women’s Film Festival, making sure we put on a good event and, most importantly, making sure we’re supporting women filmmakers and their projects … encouraging women to make films locally now that they’ll have a place where they can showcase their work. There will be chances to network and connect with fellow filmmakers. We have two interesting panels, one called Funny Women and another one that Philadelphia Women in Film and Television is running on how to help women in film and television get hired. They’re going to have a number of industry experts participating on the panel. Topics will include what are some of the barriers and how do you get around them.
PGN: For those who don’t know, tell me a little about the Asian Arts Initiative.
PN: It’s an exhibition/educational center for the arts. We teach visual arts mostly to youth, mostly from the Asian and Asian-American community, and we also do community development. We’re right on Callowhill and we do work with the homeless population in the shelter a block away and other community organizations in the area.
PGN: What are some of the things people can look forward to at the festival?
PN: A very diverse and interesting program, and the workshops I mentioned. We’ll also have a small reception before the opening-night film, “Manislam,” a documentary that depicts Islam and masculinity. It features four men of the Muslim faith — one’s from Turkey, another India, Kuwait and I think Bangladesh — who are on the front lines trying to fight for women’s equality. A great film, I fell in love with it the first time I saw it. A centerpiece film is called “Gender Journeys: More than a Pronoun.” It’s the first part of a documentary series focused on the #TransLivesMatter movement and delves into all the trials and triumphs and questions in the trans movement. The producer, Christina May, will be there. The closing-night film is the critically acclaimed film “I Believe in Unicorns.” The director, Leah Meyerhoff, will be doing a Q&A from California. It’s a free screening with a light reception afterwards.
PGN: What are some of the LGBT films you’re going to be screening?
PN: We have quite a few. Of course, there’s “Gender Journeys” and “A Queer Country,” which is about the extraordinary contradiction in Israel, a country synonymous with war and conflict which has also become a gay mecca with a thriving gay scene and the world’s largest Pride parade. We have an LGBT shorts program with several films like “Truthful Innards” — an experimental animation about the layers a body builds when it has been harmed — and “Carefree,” about a high-strung girl in her 20s who visits her hometown for the first time since leaving at 17, to crash her high-school sweetheart’s wedding. There are actually five shorts in the program.
PGN: What was your coming-out like?
PN: It was difficult. I thought the world was going to end. I was raised Catholic so it wasn’t easy to come out. I did it when I was around 22 and it was sheer hell beforehand. Feeling alone and like no one cared about my happiness, I was stuck in my own head because of what I’d been taught. I told some of my friends through a private Myspace blog, then I told my sister; she was only two years older than me and we were the closest. Then I came out to the only gay person that I knew in Philadelphia, Quynh Nguyen. We went to high school together and I’d kept in touch with her. She came out in high school and I admired her for her bravery. It’s a lot different dating women. I consider myself bisexual but more leaning towards women. There was a lot of self-discovery.
PGN: I’ve profiled Quynh, she’s the best! So are there any specific challenges you face as an Asian queer person?
PN: I definitely don’t talk about it as freely and openly as I could or should, especially if I’m dealing with other Asian-Americans. My close friends know and most of them are gay or lesbian.
PGN: Are you ready to be featured in the PGN? That’ll out you to everyone at once.
PN: Yeah, it’s fine. I think I need to take that step. There are times when I’m networking and stuff and I keep it … I don’t … I just wish sometimes I was more open. So I guess this should help!
PGN: True! Do you have a partner?
PN: I’ve been with someone for a little over a year, it’s nice. [Laughs] I don’t have the best track record but this one seems pretty stable.
PGN: Any hobbies outside of films?
PN: I used to play a little guitar and piano and I want to get back to them, and take voice lessons so I can accompany myself.
PGN: Three scents that stimulate the senses?
PN: Coffee, I like the smell of men’s cologne and citrus.
PGN: Biggest extravagance?
PN: When I was in college, I went to L.A. with my sister and her boyfriend. I was a poor college student but I really wanted to experience L.A. so I went.
PGN: Farthest visit and a cool memory?
PN: When I was 13, I went to Vietnam. We have a lot of aunts and uncles there. I got to ride an elephant and hold a 6-foot python.
PGN: Who’s a hero for you?
PN: My American grandmother. She and my grandfather sponsored our family over here and, regardless that they were American and we were Vietnamese, they always treated us like family. They had us call them Grammy and Grampy. She introduced me to puzzles and “Green Gables” and American Girl dolls, cooking and baking. Every week, she’d volunteer for Meals on Wheels. They were both giving and forgiving, with very big hearts.
PGN: Are they where the Catholicism came in?
PN: No, they were actually Protestant. It came more from the family in Vietnam, a result of colonization I guess.
For more information on The Women’s Film Festival, visit thewomensfilmfestival.org and follow the organization on social media @thewomensfilmfestival.
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