Elizabeth ai: director of new wave and emmy award winning producer on carving identity, vietnamese heritage, and future generations

Written by: Milla Nguyen + Photography by: Evan Odinsoff + Videography by: Michael Kokorine

Elizabeth Ai’s Biography:

Elizabeth Ai is a Chinese Vietnamese American award-winning filmmaker, storyteller, and author. Her debut feature documentary, NEW WAVE, premiered in competition at the 2024 Tribeca Festival, earning a Special Jury Mention for Best New Documentary Director and critical acclaim from The New York Times, Vogue, IndieWire, Los Angeles Times, and San Francisco Chronicle. She is the author of New Wave: Rebellion and Reinvention in the Vietnamese Diaspora and an Emmy winner and nominee for her branded content with ESPN and National Geographic. She created the original pilot for VICE/Munchies’ Bong Appétit, which was picked up for series. Her producing credits include Dirty Hands, Saigon Electric, Ba, and A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem. An alum of Sundance, Tribeca, Berlinale, and Firelight Media, Ai’s work has been supported by the Center for Asian American Media, Cinereach, Ford Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Author’s Note:

It is an honor to highlight Elizabeth Ai as one of our Vicarious Column headliners for our second issue. She is an industry role model for many groups: filmmakers, Vietnamese female American filmmakers, and independent filmmakers. During the interview, our discussion was like a breath of fresh air. A theme of future impact she heavily emphasized is community. I asked her about why she was specifically drawn to the Vietnamese community. She mentioned that the Vietnamese family members and friends she grew up with are all multidimensional. They are not solely defined by their traumas and the limitations of the past. In her documentary, New Wave, she portrayed a community that was able to move forward because of music, passion, and family. It was healing in a cathartic sense. The film punctuated that not every story is happy, not every relationship is perfect, but we are in charge of our own destiny. Throughout Elizabeth Ai’s career, she has been dedicated to telling niche stories that open our eyes to the truth and emphasize why resilience is significant.

The Beginnings of Elizabeth Ai

Elizabeth Ai grew up in the San Gabriel Valley, California. She shared that while her mom and elders were focused on survival in the U.S., her childhood as a latchkey kid lacked structure, giving her a brazen autonomy that later defined her. Ai mentioned that she didn’t see filmmaking as a full-time career early on, but had bursts of passion for storytelling in general. Ai said, “My dream of being a filmmaker felt so removed from my family's working-class existence. Even watching movies in the theater was a luxury. I also loved escaping through books, through stories.”

Ultimately, she engaged in experiences with people from all walks of life. Finally, she decided that she wanted to use visual storytelling as a way to connect people. Also, as a way to educate audiences about untold narratives. She said, “As an independent producer, I didn’t realize how much storytelling it took. It’s not just about the piece of writing at the core of it. It can be about raising the money, refining pitches, communicating with a team, and holding it together. There’s even a narrative around the real narrative. You witness nuanced themes in how the characters are living.”

New Wave: The Vietnamese Community in a new light

Her debut feature documentary, New Wave, is a historical coming-of-age documentary about displaced Vietnamese refugee youth who fled their country by boat and then in the 1980s redefined their identities in suburban Orange County, California, through New Wave music. I first saw the film at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City last year. The film earned a Special Jury Mention for Best New Documentary Director at the Tribeca Film Festival, the 2024 Austin Asian American Film Festival Audience Award, and the Grand Jury Best Feature Award at Viet Film Fest. While the accolades are proof of Ai’s successful film, the impact of the documentary is even grander. When she first started drawing out the film's ideas, she explained, “My inspiration for this was when I was pregnant with my daughter. As a daughter of refugees myself, I was still navigating the relationship of motherhood and heritage.

I held in a lot of shame, and suppressed it. I grew up in the 80s. I remember driving down Downtown L.A. I’d see unhoused folks and veterans with missing limbs as they held up signs saying ‘Vietnam War’. It was a heavy word. “ She elaborated on the need to showcase the authenticity of Vietnamese people in a real light, not another Vietnamese refugee war story that we have already seen. She said, “The Vietnamese people are always shown in compromised positions in films. Inferior. Defined by trauma. With New Wave, I was inspired by the teens who took care of me in the 80s. The big hair, funky outfits, and the music.”

Over the last year, New Wave has been screened at many film festivals worldwide. I asked Ai if she had any memorable moments during these screenings. Ai said, “The fact that I can help bring shape and color to something these viewers feel is emotional. Of course, there has been support from a lot of Asian viewers. The crazy part is that non-Asian viewers will approach me afterward and tell me they felt seen. Being vulnerable is something everyone should practice so we don’t all feel so alone.”

Directing Real Life Documentaries

A few of her other works, specifically A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem, caught my eye. Ai wrote and produced this documentary to showcase pay disparity issues and discrimination among female cheerleaders within the NFL. On the outside, the general public assumes that NFL cheerleaders live a glamorous lifestyle and are paid large sums of money. This is not the case. Ai explained, “People don’t know. A lot of these cheerleaders didn’t get paid. It was presented to them as a volunteer position. They would spend so many hours practicing, and many of them range from ages eighteen to twenty-five. There was this misogynistic culture going on.”

Ai emphasized how shocking it was to read the facts and learn how these women were being treated within a multi-billion-dollar industry. Through the project, Ai discovered the truth all before the #MeToo movement. Ai and her team worked on the film during the movement, bringing a new, real-life component. Even then, they still received pushback from viewers who claimed that NFL cheerleaders were not significant enough to make a documentary about them. Ai elaborated, “There’s still a hierarchical mindset about which career is most important or which people matter the most over others. This documentary helped me see the internalized sexism. I had to reflect on it.”

Winning an Emmy

While Ai is experienced in narrative and documentary filmmaking, she is also well versed in the ad campaign space. While working at Evolve Studios, their projects were nominated and their team won an Emmy for a National Geographic campaign. We spoke about what the moment was like. Ai said, “We did profiles with many scientists and explorers in the field who were connected to National Geographic. I didn’t realize there were Emmys for branded content. I’m happy the team was recognized.”

She also worked as a director, writer, and producer at VICE Media and ESPN. She spoke about her time at VICE Media. She said, “One good thing about VICE is that we could pitch ideas in the room every Monday. I created a show called Bong Appetit, which is about the fun intersection of food and cannabis.”

Independent Filmmaking

Elizabeth Ai is an esteemed fellow of Berlin Talent Campus, Film Independent, Sundance, and Tribeca. While at the Berlin Talent Campus, she attended workshops and networking events in Germany. The other programs have provided her with grants and other tools necessary for independent filmmaking. She was a participant in the Sundance Catalyst program. She said, “I wouldn’t have been able to make New Wave without Sundance and all the people they brought in. I would meet younger filmmakers and be inspired by their work, too. It’s just about being open-minded with these programs.”

The Future of Culture & Filmmaking

Looking at how diverse her family and her roots are, she finds ways to honor her vibrant cultural heritage. Sometimes, that’s as simple as starting a conversation with those around her. She said, “Being Vietnamese, Chinese, and American, I try to celebrate what I remember. I don’t have a lot of heirlooms because my family has always been "on the run" for three generations. But I have a small altar with some photos of ancestors. My daughter is navigating growing up mixed. All of this history is special.”

After New Wave, Ai has been reaffirmed in her own cultural identity. She plans to open the doors for more communities through her storytelling, specifically by paying homage to the Vietnamese-Chinese community. In her next untitled project, she would like to explore themes of sisterhood and female friendships in a road trip film, highlighting strong and diverse Asian female characters.

Finally, I asked her if there was anyone she would like to thank for supporting her. She mentioned one of her best friends and New Wave producer, Rachel Sine. She said Sine encouraged her to appear in New Wave so that the audience could connect to the personal story more deeply.