Welcome, Nga

It was an honour to be invited to direct this film "Welcome, Nga", written by Hop Dao, a Vietnamese filmmaker residing in Australia. The story is partially based on some of her experiences along with some added drama.

“Welcome, Nga” offers a snapshot of different cultures and experiences through the eyes of the protagonist, Nga, a newcomer to Sydney. The story is told as she's learning and going through the trials and tribulations of the people around her. There are pivotal transformations in the character development of Nga, where she starts off naive and ignorant, then over the course of the film, she learns not to judge a book by its cover.

We made “Welcome, Nga” for both Australian and international audiences. It invites viewers to empathise with someone navigating new cultural landscapes and difficult social situations. For Australians, they might not have seen a story from the perspective of someone new to the country, learning the culture and the people in a different light they’ve never experienced before. For international audiences, the film shows a grittier, more realistic side of Sydney. Nga doesn't have a nice, happy story. From the issues she encounters, we see a darker image of Australia and Sydney — not the happy touristy landscapes for photos, but the dark alleyways and streets that are not normally seen. In the picture, there is the presence and lived realities of Aboriginal people, whose stories continue to shape the Australia we see today.

The collaborative process with actors and crew to bring authentic experiences to life is significant to me. It gave me the opportunity to work on a story that comes from people’s real experiences and to work with a multicultural cast and crew to bring them together.

There are notable creative decisions in the film that I would describe as an experiment to push my own filmmaking boundaries. What started out as a simple script note turned into a complex, impactful one-shot sequence. There are two one-shot scenes in this film, and making them happen required significant coordination and creativity. Initially, I planned out multiple shots for those scenes the way we would conventionally do it, but then I thought: why not try something visually stunning that’s outside of the box and less static, less boring to look at? Those two shots show the character going through her emotional arc all in one take, so it brings out the performance of the actors as well as pushes the crew to do something unusual. I’m so glad it came together and looks really cool.