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 1.
How did you discover the dancers in your film? What inspired you to make
it?
I found inspiration for my film while taking an
“Ethnocommunications" Documentary Film course at UCLA, taught by Professor
Bob Nakamura. One of the student films was about Hmong and Mien identity,
which included a scene of a Hmong kids breakdancing. I was immediately
intrigued.
I've been a fan of Hip Hop for a while, and I'd just
been getting to know about Fresno’s Hip Hop scene at the same time. This
thriving pocket of Hip Hop in the vast land of Central California, and the
knowledge of these talented Hmong kids made me want to find them and tell
their story. But I didn’t know any of these B-Boys, so finding them took
persistence and blind luck.
After posting a message online on a Hip Hop website (www.CentralCali.com)
I was contacted by Paulny Yang, a now 24-year-old Hmong B-Boy from Atwater
(Merced County), California. He invited me to a B-Boy jam in Modesto, where
we met an organizer of practices for all the Hmong kids in the area.
2. Can you breakdance?
A little bit. I lived with B-Boys for 4 years during
college. I've been inspired a little more lately, but not enough for me to
let anyone see!
3. As a filmmaker, who do you look up to?
I get a lot of inspiration from my peers, especially the guys I worked with
in Visual Communication's Armed With A Camera Fellowship, the program in
which I made this film. I’m also inspired by people in the community and
anyone telling good stories.
4. What's your next project?
I Just returned to school and started a new job. I want to extend AMONG
B-BOYS to around broadcast length of 24 minutes or more, and I’m looking for
more hip hop-related stories for a DVD I am trying to put together.
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