Film Screening: "New Wave" (2024)

New Wave: Rebellion and Reinvention in the Vietnamese Diaspora celebrates the rebellion, reinvention, and rebirth of joy in this young generation in cultural limbo. Featuring essays from prominent Vietnamese scholars, critics, and stars, New Wave explores how music, fashion, and rebellion can be a force for healing. New Wave is a love letter to the first generation of Vietnamese punks and rebels who came of age in the 1980s. Designed by STUDIO LHOOQ. 

Purchase your copy of New Wave: Rebellion and Reinvention in the Vietnamese Diaspora here.

Filmmaker Elizabeth Ai embarks on a journey to capture the vibrant spirit of a musical phenomenon that electrified Vietnamese American teens in the 1980s: New Wave. What begins as an exploration of the rebellion and freedom within this subculture evolves into a profound narrative of identity, loss, and healing. In Orange County, California, the synth beats and punk/goth aesthetics provided a sanctuary for a generation of youth grappling with the weight of their parents’ unspoken traumas.

As Elizabeth delves into the lives of her family members and icons of the New Wave scene, she discovers that beneath the surface lies a complex tapestry of broken dreams and unfulfilled expectations. These were not just fleeting moments of teenage rebellion but acts of defiance against the lingering shadows of the Vietnam War and the sacrifices made by a generation trying to rebuild. 

The film juxtaposes the memories of her uncles and aunts—sneaking out to underground clubs—with Elizabeth’s own childhood, marked by her mother’s abandonment. What starts as a celebration of a cultural movement transforms into a cathartic journey. As the filmmaker unravels long-buried emotions and confronts the generational wounds that have shaped her community, the film becomes a powerful exploration of cultural identity, resilience, and new beginnings. 

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, earninga 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. The New York Times selected it as a festival Critics’ Pick, calling it “a soft scream of a film” about ’80s Vietnamese diaspora culture, while Vogue praised its revelatory storytelling. 

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 later picked up for a series on Viceland. 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.

The film juxtaposes the memories of her uncles and aunts—sneaking out to underground clubs—with Elizabeth’s own childhood, marked by her mother’s abandonment. What starts as a celebration of a cultural movement transforms into a cathartic journey. As the filmmaker unravels long-buried emotions andconfronts the generational wounds that have shaped her community, the film becomes a powerful exploration of cultural identity, resilience, and new beginnings.

Naz Cuguoğlu works as a curator of contemporary art at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, where her work explores themes of intersectional identities and diasporic experiences. In 2024, she was appointed to co-curate the inaugural American Pavilion at the 15th Gwangju Biennale and received the Andy Warhol Foundation’s Curatorial Research Fellowship Grant and the AAMC Propel Award. Her curatorial experience includes exhibitions and programs at documenta fifteen, 15th Istanbul Biennial, Taiwan Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale, 4th Istanbul Design Biennial, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt. She has previously held roles at institutions such as KADIST, The Wattis Institute, de Young Museum, and SFMOMA. Her writings have appeared in Art Asia Pacific, Hyperallergic, and Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art. As a co-founder of Collective Çukurcuma, she experiments with collaborative curatorial practices through reading groups and international exhibitions.