Private Project

The Stories They Didn't Tell Us - Nina's Story

Nina came to the U.S. as a girl in 1975, with her family as refugees from Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon. Her American-born children know little about their mother's past. This documentary reflects separate interviews with Nina and her three 20-something age children, and the stories Nina didn't tell them.

LOGLINE: A Vietnamese refugee breaks her silence. Her adult children discover why they know so little about their mother's past.

  • Cindy Lee
    Director
  • Cindy Lee
    Producer
  • Nina Newell
    Key Cast
  • Phoebe Newell
    Key Cast
  • Jack Newell
    Key Cast
  • Daphne Newell
    Key Cast
  • Kat Aparicio
    Director of Photography
  • Kat Aparicio
    Editor
  • Michael A. Levine
    Composer
  • Bryan Dubon
    2nd Camera, Gaffer, Grip
  • Matthew Ramsey
    Grip
  • Destiny Tejeda
    Sound Recorder
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes 52 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 29, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    8,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Phoenix Film Festival
    Phoenix, Arizona
    United States
    April 11, 2024
    World Premiere
    Official Selection / Arizona Filmmaker of the Year 2024
  • Lowell Asian American Film Festival
    Lowell, Massachusetts
    United States
    October 19, 2024
    Massachusetts Premiere
    Official Selection / Audience Choice Award, Best Documentary Short Film
  • Dam Short Film Festival
    Boulder City, Nevada
    United States
    February 15, 2025
    Nevada Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Worldwide Women's Film Festival
    Scottsdale, Arizona
    United States
    March 8, 2025
    Scottsdale, Arizona Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Cindy Lee

Cindy Lee is a Korean American independent short documentary filmmaker living in Arizona. At age 67, she directed her first film, The Stories They Didn't Tell Us - Nina's Story, a documentary on the stories a refugee Vietnamese American mother didn’t tell her three American-born children, with their separate interviews and perspectives. It was an Official Selection at the 2024 Phoenix Film Festival, where Cindy was named Arizona Filmmaker of the Year 2024. The film also won Best Short Documentary in the Chicago Indie Film Awards and 2024 Audience Choice Award for Best Short Documentary at the Lowell Asian American Film Festival in MA. Cindy is a Master of Liberal Studies (Film & Media Studies) 2023 graduate from Arizona State University.

During her time at ASU, Cindy published two essays that express her Korean American voice. “Am I a Conditional American?” shares her reflections after experiencing an encounter at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, published in Transformations. Her other essay, “It’s Code,” published in Superstition Review, explores the code inherent in her Korean American family’s communications.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The Stories They Didn’t Tell Us refers to the stories that immigrant parents do not tell their American-born children about the hardships experienced in their native country and after coming to the U.S. This phenomenon is not uncommon—it was my lived experience. There are many reasons why parents don’t tell their children their stories, perhaps only when the children are adults. Learning these stories informs one’s sense of self and family history, but these stories are also American stories—important to share for greater understanding, and a reminder that this country is a nation of immigrants.