The only Vietnamese filmmaker at HBO
In December 2024, the American magazine Forbes announced the list of "30 under 30" (30 young people under 30) in North America (North America) in 20 fields. Notably, in the list of "30 under 30" in the field of marketing/advertising, there is only one Vietnamese person. He is Nguyen Sieu, born in 1995, a former student of Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted (Hanoi), studied abroad in the US since 2013, and is currently a filmmaker (also the only Vietnamese) at HBO, a globally famous American pay television company.
According to Forbes , Nguyen Sieu's job is to conceptualize, write, produce and edit promotional videos for HBO Max shows. This content includes trailers, documentary series, social videos for series such as Euphoria , The Idol , Hacks , The White Lotus ...
Nguyen Sieu, the only Vietnamese filmmaker at HBO
Nguyen Sieu, the only Vietnamese filmmaker at HBO
He has produced over 40 marketing projects, which have garnered 37 million views across social platforms. He is nominated for a 2024 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series for his behind-the-scenes short Hacks: Bit by Bit ; a 2022 Clio Entertainment Award for “Drama: Original Content” for his behind-the-scenes series Enter Euphoria , for which Nguyen Sieu was executive producer on episode 5.
According to Nguyen Sieu, this is a great recognition after a decade of his career in the media industry in the US. In his early 20s, when he saw that there were few Vietnamese working in the media industry in the US, he hesitated to pursue this industry for fear of not finding a place for himself in American society. In the end, Nguyen Sieu chose to follow his heart.
"I entered this industry simply because of a love for creative work and a belief in the importance of global stories. I had to explore, experience, stumble, and rise from those stumbles, to find my own path, to create products that both touch the emotions of the audience and bear my own mark. The recognition from Forbes after those efforts is a great motivation for me to continue on this path," Nguyen Sieu shared.
Nguyen Sieu was honored in the Forbes 2025 "30 under 30" list in the marketing/advertising field in North America.
PHOTO: QUY HIEN SCREENSHOT
I cried and begged my parents to let me fly back to Vietnam.
Nguyen Sieu started his film media career with an unpaid internship in Hollywood in the summer of 2016, at a horror film production company, after finishing his third year at Vassar University (USA). When choosing to study film, Nguyen Sieu determined that this was a "very poor, very poor" industry. Therefore, having an unpaid job to gain practical experience in the American entertainment industry, Sieu considered himself very lucky, because he had set a foot in the threshold of the future.
Sieu's main job is to read scripts and write reviews. At first, Sieu was very excited because he was always ranked in the group with excellent writing skills. But then he collapsed after participating in serving at a film festival in Los Angeles, because of his "Asian identity" complex, because of the feeling of being lost in a luxurious and splendid world. Returning home from the party at 1am, Sieu suddenly fell into a panic attack in the scary silence of the night. He cried when he called his parents, wishing to cancel his internship and fly back to Vietnam immediately. He was afraid that Hollywood was not for him. He was afraid that he could not overcome the racial discrimination barrier.
Encouraged by his parents, Sieu calmed down. The lavish party in Los Angeles became a memory, a "special motivation" for him to strive to prove his ability. After 3 months of internship, observing how the film industry operates from the inside, Sieu found himself much more mature. The first lesson Sieu learned after this time was "feel lucky when you are criticized, because at least you haven't been fired yet". "The world can't change overnight if all we do is complain, I think so", Sieu shared.
Unplanned job change
Sieu really experienced the harsh reality after he graduated from university. He locked himself in a small room, not going out even on weekends, with the determination to "hunt" for himself the most suitable job, both something he loved to do and to make a living. He sent his resume everywhere. Day after day, he did not receive any response. "It was an extremely stressful time for me," Sieu said.
Just when Sieu was almost in despair, he received a letter from Paramount Network (a unit of Paramount, a famous American media group). During the 4 days of waiting after the interview, there were times when he trembled with fear. Paramount is a big brand, the feeling of being about to touch or about to slip away from it is… shocking!
Nguyen Sieu and colleagues at HBO
Nguyen Sieu and colleagues at HBO
After working at Paramount for more than 4 years, Sieu caught the eye of HBO recruiters. They noticed Sieu through the products he worked on at Paramount. He was satisfied with his job at Paramount, but was curious to be invited for an interview by a famous company like HBO. After meeting Mr. John Wilhelmy, Creative Director of HBO (Sieu's current boss), he decided to "jump ship".
At Paramount, Sieu is working in a typical model, which is working in pairs, one person comes up with ideas and writes the script, the other chooses the music and edits the video. At HBO, the producer will be in charge of every step of the production process from A to Z (producer - editor), coming up with video ideas, collecting information, writing the script, staging..., so a versatile artist like Sieu feels "free to do whatever he wants".
"The interview was scheduled to last 45 minutes. But Mr. Wilhelmy and I talked for more than 2 hours. He was very interested in my thoughts on American entertainment culture, asking me many questions about music, movies, and entertainment events at that time. For a young person like me, if I could work with a creative director who is both sharp and up-to-date with information like that, there would be nothing better!", Sieu said.
"I am Nguyen Sieu"
According to Nguyen Sieu, his childhood was very stressful with the name his grandfather gave him (with the hope that he would be as excellent as his name). Wherever the name Sieu went, it "shined". In strange places, with so many eyes focused on him when his name was called, Sieu just wanted to disappear. But growing up and understanding more, Sieu began to learn to appreciate what belonged to him. When he came to America, he did not choose an English name but kept the name Sieu, even though it was a bit difficult for Americans to pronounce.
I am Nguyen Sieu. I am from Vietnam and I am proud of it.
Working in the creative environment in the US, Sieu realized that they always emphasize individual and different perspectives. Therefore, he does not have to try to turn his perspective into an American perspective. He always approaches every video as a Vietnamese producer. He always uses his life experience, as a Vietnamese living between two cultures, Vietnamese and American, as material and creative inspiration. This helps his products to be rich in emotion.
"When I produced the 'Invitation to the Set' video for the series The Flight Attendant in 2022, I received an email from the lead actress and producer, Kaley Cuoco, saying that she got goosebumps watching the video. Comments like that give me great motivation to continue my career path in my own way," Sieu confided.
The above contemplations were summarized by Sieu more than 8 years ago, when he started working at Paramount. At the end of 2018, when publishing the book Lonely to Grow Up - Diary from America , Sieu also concluded the book with the affirmation: "I am Nguyen Sieu. I come from Vietnam and I am proud of that".
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/guong-mat-viet-noi-bat-forbes-my-2025-toi-la-nha-san-xuat-phim-nguoi-viet-nam-185250123202402247.htm
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