425 - Tony Bui - How Did The Vietnamese American Film Industry Begin?

In this episode of The Vietnamese podcast, host Anderson Le sits down with Tony Bui, a pioneer in the Vietnamese American independent cinema space. Tony is a Sundance award-winning writer, director, and producer. He is currently Artist-in-Residence at Columbia University’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute and teaches in Columbia’s School of the Arts graduate film program. 

His films include Yellow Lotus, Three Seasons, Green Dragon, and The Throwaways. His short film, Yellow Lotus, was the first Vietnamese language film to be screened at the Sundance Film Festival and received over 15 national and international festival awards. 

His feature film debut, Three Seasons, was the first American-Vietnamese co-production to be filmed entirely in Vietnam. The film received the Grand Jury Prize, Audience Award, and Best Cinematography Award at the Sundance Film Festival, along with two Independent Spirit Awards nominations. Three Seasons was also Vietnam’s official entry to the Oscars, where it was shortlisted. 

In 2024, Three Seasons was showcased once again at the Sundance Film Festival, chosen as one of ten films from the festival's four decade history to celebrate its 40th anniversary.

Tony is a recipient of the Humanitas Prize and an alumnus of the Sundance Institute's Screenwriting and Directing Labs. He has written and developed projects for HBO, Warner Bros., and NBC. 

Tony previously served on the Board of Directors of Film Independent for seven years and is currently on the Global Advisory Board of Fulbright University Vietnam. 

As Artist-in-Residence at Columbia, Tony has brought filmmakers, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, global activists, and more to the campus as guest speakers to engage in vital conversations about the role of artists and truth seekers. 

In the summer of 2024, in partnership with Columbia University’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Tony held public talks in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Beijing. These events, titled Conversations in Storytelling: Regional Voices, Global Impact, brought together notable filmmakers in each city for discussions on the role and significance of regional storytelling in today’s world. 

In April 2025, Tony and the Criterion Channel launched Legacies of War: Vietnam Across the Divides, a curated program of American and Vietnamese films in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. This landmark series marked the first time a showcase of Vietnamese cinema became available for streaming on the Criterion Channel.

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