Lam Nguyen Producer(top)
Lam Nguyen was born in Vinh Long, Viet Nam where he grew up until his family moved
to the United States in 1989. In 1996, he won the Student Emmy Award and the Chicago
International Award for his short film Nostalgic. One of the founders of NonLa Films,
Nguyen has directed over 40 music videos and produced for Van Son Entertainment
since 1996. In 1999, he joined the Club o'Noodles Theatre Group, where he met Ham
Tran and produced Ham's M.F.A thesis film The Anniversary, which has won over 25
international awards, in addition to being on the top 10 list for the 2004 Academy
Awards®.
As a young producer, Nguyen says, "It's important for me to make Journey from the
Fall because the new generation of Vietnamese youth must remember where they came
from and why. Journey is a historical film that needs to be told to the world."
Ham Tran Writer/Director(top)
Born in Saigon, Ham Tran immigrated to America with his parents through the Orderly
Departure Program in 1982. His explorations in playwriting, prose, poetry, music,
drawing, painting, film and video became a journey to assemble new and lost history
and culture.
Ham Tran recently graduated from UCLA with a Master of Fine Arts degree in Film
and Television, where his short films have won numerous accolades including the
title of National Finalist for the Student Academy Awards® for two years in a row
for his short films The Prescription and Pomegranate. Tran's thesis film The Anniversary
won the prestigious USA Film Festival award for Best Short Film, which qualified
the film for the 2004 Academy Awards® for Best Live Action Short.
Guillermo Rosas
Cinematographer(top)
A veteran Cinematographer, Guillermo Rosas' credits include the Academy Award nominated
film Before Night Falls. Based in Mexico, Rosas has worked with great directors
from all over the world such as Peter Weir of, Master and Commander : The Far Side
of the World; Tony Scott, Man on Fire; and James Cameron, Titanic. Rosas fell in
love with Vietnam in 1979 when he was sent by the Mexican government as a cameraman
to document their Food Relief Expedition. It is out of this love that he returned
to Vietnam to shoot Ham Tran' s thesis film, The Anniversary. The new found collaboration
lead to several more awards in cinematography. Rosas returns to create an even more
stunning installment.
Julie Kirkwood
Cinematographer(top)
After earning her degree in still photography from the Center for Creative Studies
in Detroit, Kirkwood began her career in the film industry as a camera assistant
on low and big budget features as well as national commercials. After a few years
of commuting to Los Angeles for work, she got tired of sleeping on friends' couches
and made the move down. One of the first films she shot, Abigail Severance's Come
Nightfall, was selected to screen at Sundance in 2002. Since then she has shot several
other award-winning films including End of A Dog, directed by John Morgan; and Jenn
Kao's Outside, which aired on Showtime in 2004. It was Kirkwood's work on Outside
that caught Director Ham Tran's eye and was the reason he chose to collaborate with
her on Journey From The Fall.
Mona Nahm Production
Designer - USA(top)
Born in Bankok, Thailand Mona Nahm immigrated to the United States in 1983. Finally
making her way back to Bankok after ten years, it was a trip that became the start
of a six-year obsession with the Thai film industry.
Nahm directed Be Very Quiet which won Best Short 2004 at the Silverlake Film Festival.
It has also been selected for many festivals including Bangkok International Film
Festival, 29th Cleveland International Film Festival, and 10th International Women's
Film Festival in Dortmund, Germany.The growing attention from the short film introduced
Nahm to Oxide Pang, director of The Eye who brought her back to Thailand to direct
her first feature, The Remaker - which is scheduled for release in 2005.
Aside from directing, Nahm fell in love with production design. Nahm has designed
over twenty shorts, a commercial, and two music videos for Warner Brothers. Recently
Nahm returned to Thailand to finish the post-production on The Remaker. During her
trip the tsunami tragedy struck Southeast Asia. Since then she has been volunteering
in the relief effort and is currently making a documentary on the recovery of the
hardest hit village in Thailand, Ban Nam Kem Village.
Bao Tranchi Costume
Designer(top)
Bao’s family were among the boat people who fled Vietnam and arrived in the US.
As a child Bao watched her mother endure long hours and miserable conditions in
a garment district sweatshop and she promised herself that she would make it in
the industry that destroyed her mother’s spirit. Graduating top of her class from
Otis College of Art and Design, she worked on movies like HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH,
CHARLIE’S ANGELS and QUEEN OF THE DAMNED, as well as on Madonna’s "Drowned World"
tour. Bao and her partner, Jack Atlantis, launched their own clothing line which
got her a range of clients including Selma Hayek, Bai Ling and Naomi Watts.
Gordon Banh Hair/Makeup
Artist(top)
At the age of four, Gordon Banh and his family came to America from Vietnam by boat.
He grew up to attend the the Fashion Institute of Designing and Merchandising (FIDM)
and later he studied at the Westmore Academy of Cosmetic Arts on a scholarship.
He’s currently a make-up teacher at Westmore Academy, and he is also well-known
in the Vietnamese entertainment circles for his work on the extremely popular Vietnamese
variety shows that tour the globe like Thuy Nga, Paris By Night, and Van Son. He
is also a stylist for Wayne Brady, Lisa Ling and Narai.