NADINE TRUONG
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NEWS AND UPDATES
Filming in Antarctica
December 2025
Returned from Antarctica after capturing b-roll footage for a narrative feature film in development. Filmed in expedition conditions from zodiacs, expedition vessels, helicopters, and landings, the material focuses on landscape, ice, and wildlife and will inform the visual foundation of the project.
UCLA Anthropology Commencement Address
June 2025
I had the honor of delivering the commencement address for the UCLA Department of Anthropology. As a UCLA anthropology alum, returning to speak at the department’s graduation ceremony was deeply meaningful.
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My training in anthropology has long informed my filmmaking and visual work, shaping how I approach people, culture, and storytelling with curiosity, care, and context. I’m grateful to the faculty and students for the invitation and the opportunity to reflect on the paths that connect anthropology and film.
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Watch here.
Adjunct Professor
Fall 2024
Appointed Adjunct Professor, teaching directing, producing, and screenwriting at the undergraduate and graduate levels in film school programs at Loyola Marymount University and Chapman University, as well as within the Film and Media Studies Program at UC Irvine, and in cinematography at Berklee College of Music.
Guest Lectures at UCLA & Columbia University
Fall 2023
I delivered guest lectures to second-year MFA Film students at Columbia University’s School of the Arts in New York and at UCLA, focusing on film sequences including dialogue-driven scenes, action, and montage.
Tin House Writers Workshop
July 2022
Through some unexpected turn of events, I got accepted into the renowned Tin House Writers Workshop under the ever-so-wonderful T Kira Madden. I was so stoked because I was a big fan of her essays and her memoir for some time now.
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My workshop mates included brilliant writers: journalists, editors, published or up-and-coming authors, critics, academics, and *ahem* filmmakers. The list of our collective accomplishments gave almost all of us imposter syndrome. We writers are not always good at giving ourselves credit. But by bearing our souls and our secrets on the page, we got to know one another quickly. This collective of human beings is one of a kind: vulnerable, intelligent, supportive, generous, and considerate. Shout out to Tin House for reading our applications so closely and putting us together in one room with the effervescent T Kira. Being in communion with these artists has been an honor of a lifetime.
"UNCONDITIONAL" Screens At the White House
2023
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Richard Lui’s documentary Unconditionally screened at the White House in May 2023 as part of a national initiative highlighting the experiences of caregivers and mental health advocates. Hosted by First Lady Jill Biden, the screening brought attention to the strength and vulnerability of millions of Americans navigating caregiving and emotional health challenges.
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I’m proud to have served as a Contributing Producer on Unconditional, directed by Richard Lui, and to see the film recognized in this national context.
Kenyon Review Writers Workshop
June 2022
Gambier, OH. I gave my first public reading of a literary non-fiction piece I wrote during the writer's workshop. It was an honor to be among so many distinguished artists. A nerve-wracking experience, but I belonged.
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I have written about things I never thought I'd revisit and experimented with shapes and time warps that I didn't know existed. The creative process is a perplexing mind-pretzel, full of magic and insight. I've loved every minute of this week (minus the tornado, though even that proved to be an event rife for stories).
Tin House Writers Workshop
2022
I was selected to participate in the Tin House Writers Workshop in Portland, OR, working under the mentorship of T. Kira Madden. The workshop provided an intensive environment for developing narrative voice and craft alongside a community of writers.
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The experience strengthened my approach to storytelling across forms and continues to inform my work in both writing and film.
Audience Choice Award at AAIFF
July 30, 2017
I CAN I WILL I DID won the Audience Choice Award in New York! Thank you to all of you who voted! What a great honor.
Sunscreen Film Festival Awards
April 29, 2017
What a whirlwind weekend! Punch drunk with love at the Sunscreen Film Festival in St Petersberg, FL. Our movie won Best Feature Film and Selenis Leyva ("Orange is the New Black") won Best Supporting Actress!!!
I CAN I WILL I DID
Featured Project
The Story:
Depressed foster youth Ben is bullied and as a result gets into a car accident. His recovery process is slow, until he meets Adrienne, a wheelchair user and fellow patient at the hospital who breathes hope into his life and introduces to him her grandfather, Taekwondo Master Kang. Kang not only teaches him how to walk and get back up on his feet, but also how to take charge of his own life. Ben ultimately learns how to face his inner demons.
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Starring:
Mike Faist
Selenis Leyva
Ik Jo Kang
Ellie Lee
Jack DiFalco
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Written and Directed
by
Nadine Truong
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CONTACT
Represented by
Brio Entertainment (Mia Chang & Brehan Fitzgerald)
