NEPO BABY won BEST FOREIGN SHORT in LA

By Khanh Nguyen (Through Pat Parungao)

1. NEPO BABY:

NEPO BABY has broken the record of many firsts in my life: first grant, first short, first film festival, first time in LA, and first award. 

What started from a fight with my parents about career choice has become an award-winning comedy-drama-fantasy short. After a fight with her unsupportive dad, a Vietnamese actress wishes to trade anything for fame, and Buddha listens…

NEPO BABY won BEST FOREIGN SHORT at the LA Femme International Film Festival, the first women-focused film festival in Los Angeles. This was so exciting because the same award was once earned by I’m Not a Robot, the 2025 Oscar winner. Please check out the NEPO BABY – Official Trailer on YouTube and follow us on Instagram, @nepobabythefilm to learn more about our future screenings. 

My fondest memory related to NEPO BABY was a Vietnamese woman who contacted me last month after the LA screening. She said NEPO BABY felt like her own story in an alternate timeline where she was brave enough to follow her directing dream. She really reminded me of why I went through so much hardship to make this film. 

Director-Writer Khanh Nguyen in LA with Award.  Credit: Sam Felman

So why should YOU watch NEPO BABY (2025)? Hear it from our audience on social media! 

2. My story:

I was born and raised in Can Tho, a city in southern Vietnam known for its floating markets. As a kid, I sang all the time, and I love Karaoke, which is often jokingly referred to as a Vietnamese national sport. I’ve always wanted to be a singer, but my parents never supported me. Instead of taking vocal lessons, I had to take so many extra classes in English, French and Math since I was 5 years old. It didn’t help me go to The Voice, but it definitely allowed me to go abroad alone. 

I came to Canada in 2019 as a student, studying Tourism in LaSalle college Montreal. My dream to become a singer slowly faded. I graduated in 2021 at the time that Covid shut down tourism.  Suddenly there were no jobs in my field and my life pivoted. 

As I started to question my career choice, I moved a lot across Canada, from Montreal to Ottawa, Toronto, and finally Vancouver in 2022. This time, I stayed to explore the film industry. After landing my first acting agent, he refused to submit me to film and TV roles because of my Vietnamese accent. There were not enough roles for Asians, but even less for first-generation immigrants like me. That’s when I decided to tell my own story, and NEPO BABY was born. I am extremely grateful to the British Columbia Arts Council for trusting a first-time director-writer like me and to the Southeast Asian Cultural Heritage Society (SEACHS) for giving me a voice.

3. SEACHS:

SEACHS is a community-oriented non-profit that shares and preserves Asian culture, knowledge, and arts. In 2022, SEACHS made “buto/buto: bones are seeds”, a Filipino theatre project with a sold-out 5-night run at the Russian Hall. In 2025, SEACHS brought together 80 cast and crew mainly from the Asian community to carry out NEPO BABY. Our film fundraiser also attracted over 150 attendees from equity-deserving communities and organizations such as the Pacific Canada Heritage Centre – Museum of Migration (PCHC-MoM) Society.   

SEACHS community fundraiser. Credit: Hugh Liu

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ABOUT THE WRITER

Khanh Nguyen. Credit: Brian Van Wyk

Vietnam-born and Vancouver-based, Khánh Nguyễn is an award-winning director-writer passionate about creating fantasy and sci-fi series exploring real human conditions. Her debut short NEPO BABY won Best Foreign Short at LA Femme International Film Festival. She is now developing a sci-fi proof-of-concept short film. In 2025, she earned a coveted place among the 15 Canadian filmmakers selected for the Vancouver International Film Festival’s (VIFF) Catalyst. Beyond directing, she works as a script supervisor, leads the Southeast Asian Cultural Heritage Society (SEACHS), and writes and performs original music.