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Born in Vietnam, the youngest of first generation ethnic Chinese Vietnamese parents, Tran immigrated to America in 1982 as a refugee. A product of assimilation, Tran graduated from UCLA with a BA in English Literature, through what he considers a process of institutionalized amnesia. His works in poetry, prose, playwriting, and film are a reflection of his process to regain lost memories. His first two short films, “The Prescription” (1999) and “pomegranate” (2000) were both semi-finalists for the Student Academy Awards. Tran graduated with an MFA from the UCLA School of Film and Television. His thesis film, “The Anniversary” (2003) won over 30 international film festival awards, and was short-listed as Best Live Action Short for the 2004 Academy Awards. His first feature film, “Journey From the Fall” (2006), was widely received by critics when it was released theatrically in 2007. “Journey…” has won over 16 international awards, and is currently available on DVD.
In 2007, Tran edited two feature films, “The Rebel” and “Owl and Sparrow”, the latter of which Tran also Executive Produced. 2007 also saw the release of “Oh Saigon!”, a feature-length documentary that Tran served as an associate producer as well as a videographer. These films, along with “Journey From the Fall” are part of a new Vietnamese filmmaking movement, called “The Viet Wave”.
Tran is currently working on his next feature film, “Distant Country”, based on the outrageously true story of two Vietnamese illegal immigrants whose dreams of reaching the United States took them on a journey around the world. In addition, he is also making a documentary film, tentatively titled, “Sponsored‘75”, which traces the lives of 10 Vietnamese families who were from the very first wave of Vietnamese refugees sponsored to America in 1975 and their American sponsors. It is an examination of the reversals of fortune in the slippery toss of the coin of the American Dream.
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