2019 Summer Intern: Hien Nguyen
Hi, my name is Hien Nguyen. I hail from Hanoi, Vietnam and I have consistently tested as an ESFJ, also known as The Caregiver. I recently graduated from GVSU with a Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising and PR, with an Emphasis in PR. However, I fell in love with video production the summer after my sophomore year in college. Since then, I have experienced many forms of video storytelling from documentaries, short films, stop motion videos, to branded video content for clients.
The first film I ever made was a 17-minute documentary about my mom and her relationships with her three daughters, who were in completely different age groups with different problems. It was the final project for a documentary film course I took in Hanoi for one month. After putting this together, I was amazed. I realized that, one, I am capable of making a film; two, the magic of stories being told with moving images; and lastly, I love learning about the subjects, the people, and even myself during the whole process.
Since then, I have self-started more narrative projects for my Youtube channel and never stopped being amazed by the not only power of visual content but how they can connect to people. Exploring my own identity when living in both countries has definitely shaped my inspiration. In a time where foreign media is making huge global influences, coming from a small country like me, I find it's easy to be dissolved in that mass media and forget about our own voice and culture.
In the next 5 years, I want to continue creating many more relatable content in my country whether it’s TV ads, music videos, or campaign videos supporting for good causes. My end goal is to direct feature films in Vietnam and/or films about Vietnamese people. Somehow I have always felt compelled to tell our stories to ourselves and share them with the world. I chose to intern with Allied because I want more professional experience with a video production team, gaining technical skills and on-set experience. But the part that really spoke to me about this position was how much Allied values learning opportunities for young filmmakers. I believe this internship will be an additional boost in my journey as a lifelong storyteller.