Mai’s America
When a spunky, mini-skirted daughter of Ho Chi Minh’s revolution leaves cosmopolitan Hanoi for a high school exchange program in rural Mississippi, her ideas about freedom, America, Vietnam, and herself are thrown into question.
Awards & Recognition
Winner
2002 South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) - Audience Award
Winner
2002 International Documentary Association (IDA) - Distinguished Achievement Award
Winner
2003 International Documentary Association (IDA) - Distinguished Documentary Achievement Awards, Feature Competition
A spunky Vietnamese teenager named Mai gets the chance of a lifetime — to study in the United States. Expecting Hollywood, she instead lands in rural Mississippi, a crazy quilt of self-proclaimed rednecks, cliquish teenagers, South Vietnamese exiles, and transvestite soulmates. As she tries to fit in and to make ends meet, Mai discovers that America is both less and far more than she bargained for. From cosmopolitan Hanoi to the heart of the Deep South, Mai’s unforgettable journey offers an outsider’s glimpse inside America.