MIKE
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Comedy, Drama
A Vietnamese exchange student struggling to survive his first day of classes at an all-white Christian high school in South Dakota.
MIKE
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Comedy, Drama
1 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $17,305 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
91 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
A Vietnamese exchange student struggling to survive his first day of classes at an all-white Christian high school in South Dakota.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
All artworks designed by Chutong Liu.
I went to American high school armed solely with knowledge gathered from the cultural phenomenon “High School Musical”... I quickly realized America is a different place than I'd expected.
Especially for minorities.
To cope with cultural differences, I “erased” my Vietnamese identity in order to blend in. It began with using an American name. That experience led me to MIKE.
MIKE is a coming-of-age story inspired by the international student community. There are one million of us residing in the United States, and 36% of us report experiencing mental health issues and identity crises. Similar to my experience, these students cope with ignorance on a daily basis while trying to fulfill their social desires as human beings.
"Stop being yourself" becomes a survival mechanism. Long before you know it, you become unsure of who you were.
I want to explore the genuine comedy and pain that stemmed from this situation. Through this short, I hope international students will feel seen and also brave enough to be proud of who they are.
Set entirely on the first day of school, Hiep Nguyen is a Vietnamese student going on an exchange program at a Christian high school in South Dakota.
At school, Hiep stumbles through the challenges of conforming to an environment of all-white, religious Midwesterners who only know about Vietnam through the Vietnam War. As he tries to fit in with the new environment, Hiep seeks to befriend Christian, who is rumored to be a quarter Vietnamese.
Through these obstacles, Hiep will have to ask himself: Should I accept myself wholly, or should I NOT BE MYSELF in order to connect with others within this school?
MIKE seeks to resemble a bittersweet memory of high school. There's a sense of contrast within those memories of teenage angst - and we will deliver just that through a progession of compositions and colors.
COMPS
Our inspiration includes THE FAREWELL, which utilized composition to evoke comedy within a very dramatic situation; We also enjoy LADY BIRD & ATLANTA: FUBU for their ability to use color to reflect a protagonist's progression.
COLOR
Hiep's journey will have a WARM color palette ... until it doesn't. We want to invite the audience into this memory as if it's their own. However, when our protagonist has to make an ultimate choice of whether to be true to himself or not, the world turns COLD.
COMPOSITIONS
The journey Hiep embarks on is filled with ups and downs, and we want you to experience what that feels like through tracking shots, offbeat angles, and handheld movements. Act I consists of a variety of wide & medium offbeat angles to signify otherness. Act II consists of multiple handheld shots as Hiep takes braver choices and Act III is coordinated with traditional, stabilized angles to signify a return to normalcy.
To reflect the message of diversity presented within the short, We are crewing mostly international students and minorities, who can resonate with the theme of isolation and loneliness that MIKE wants to deliver. Furthermore, our multinational MIKE team are all students of the highly-prestigious USC Film Production program.
When you pledge, you are not only pledging to MIKE - you are pledging to the careers of a diverse group of up-and-coming filmmakers, who want to keep on entertaining you and others. Your pledge would help make this film the springboard needed for us to keep on telling more important stories about diversity & immigration.
In order for us to deliver the best product possible, we want to ensure the well-being of our team is taken care of. Therefore, you can expect your pledge to go toward things such as:
- Medical kits, COVID tests & face masks
- Quality meals & crafty for all involved in the production
- Transportation to and from set for any actors & crewmembers
- Insurance & contingency for any emergency events and to keep the set safe
- High-performance gear necessary to carry out the story's vision
If your pledge helps us reach our goal, we would be able to deliver the fully finished film by August 2023, with the hope of putting MIKE in major film festivals during the fall season circuit.
Plus, our incentives are just very fun. 
Please follow our Seed & Spark, social media, and TikTok. You do not have to pledge to follow them. They are free and will be regularly updated to post various facts about international student life in America. Furthermore, every once in a while, our crew or actors might jump in to give you some fun updates.
- Instagram: @mikeshortfilm
- Tiktok: @mikeshortfilm
Please share our Seed & Spark or social media platform if you find it informative and helpful. We appreciate any interaction we have, and it will help us take one step at a time toward our goal of creating a meaningful film with a well-fed crew :)
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
CAMERA
Costs $5,500
We can't showcase what you've pledged if we don't have anything to record with!
MEALS & CRAFTY
Costs $3,650
We'd like to feed everyone on our cast & crew the highest quality meals they deserve ❤️
Production Design, Props & Set Dressing
Costs $3,700
Turning Los Angeles into South Dakota will not be an easy task for our art team!
Post-Production
Costs $1,400
The final, very important touch to ensure the film looks, sounds, and feels great!
Sound Design & Composing Fee
Costs $1,000
The most underrated part of making an experience feel fully completed!
Hard Drive
Costs $861
High-quality works require high-quality data storage for excellent editing and safe-keeping!
Transportation
Costs $1,600
Help get our crew and equipment to-and-from set safely!
Location
Costs $1,500
We need your pledges to help secure our shooting locations!
Insurance & Contingency
Costs $1,500
Every production needs insurance to keep our team safe and sound!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
ABOUT THE TEAM
MIKE's family reflects the demographics represented in the short: mostly international students and minorities.
Therefore, our team is extremely multinational, with individuals coming from Vietnam, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and more. Furthermore, all crewmembers are MFA candidates of the prestigious USC Film/TV Production program, with an acceptance rate of 3%. Aside from their evident talent and passion for filmmaking, each crewmembers are thoroughly evaluated by USC faculty and mentors before peing selected to work on a project of this scale.
Lastly, but most importantly, each of us has worked with one another before on other projects and are all committed to ensure we deliver the message film as crystal clear as it cans.
TEAM DESCRIPTION
Duc Anh Nguyen - Writer/Director: A Ho Chi Minh City native, ever since Duc Anh got introduced to cinema, he knew he wanted to contribute to the powerful world of telling stories through visual language. He is among the selected few to helm a thesis project under USC’s guidance, and looks forward to furthering Vietnamese representation in film through his work as a writer and director.
Janine Zhang - Producer: Janine is an Asian female artist with a multi-cultural background and experience in filmmaking, architecture, and business. Before starting her MFA in Film Production at USC, she earned a bachelor's degree in Communications at NYU.
Chris Merola - Producer: Chris is a filmmaker from Long Island, New York (don’t worry, the accent only comes out when he’s frustrated). Before starting at USC, he earned a Bachelor’s in Psychology at Fordham University. He likes to refer to people as ‘gamer/s’ just to throw them off a bit - life is more fun with a little of the unexpected.
Nobutaka Emura - Director of Photography: Nobu is a hungry cinematographer and filmmaker from Nagoya city, Japan. Before starting his MFA at USC, Nobu worked for Cosmo Space in Japan, where he helped to shoot numerous live concerts in arenas and baseball stadiums across Japan, China and South Korea.
Ji Lee - Assistant Director: Ji Lee is a feminist queer filmmaker from Seoul, Korea. She is a writer, director, editor, and photographer. She hopes that every film she makes can be a warm and sweet poem for anyone who keeps sadness inside.
Raza Rizvi - Production Designer: Raza Rizvi is a filmmaker from the Bay Area and is currently a MFA student at USC focusing on writing, directing, and production design. He has written and directed a microbudget feature film and short comedy film that have toured the festival circuit and done production design for multiple short films and commercials. Raza is passionate about making and designing thematically provocative and intimate films that explore the deeper relationships between people.
Shan Jiang - Production Designer: Shan Jiang is a director, cinematographer and production designer born and raised in China, currently based in LA. His films focus on social change and intimate relationships.
Yo Chang - Production Sound: Yo was born in Taipei, Taiwan. She is currently pursuing her MFA degree in Film and TV Production from USC, School of Cinematic Arts. Yo is interested in the contradictions that humanity itself possesses, she wants to make films that ease conflicts and merge contradictions. She hopes that through her films she can bring warmth, smiles, and courage to wounded souls. To make people enjoy and embrace the weirdness that lives in us.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
All artworks designed by Chutong Liu.
I went to American high school armed solely with knowledge gathered from the cultural phenomenon “High School Musical”... I quickly realized America is a different place than I'd expected.
Especially for minorities.
To cope with cultural differences, I “erased” my Vietnamese identity in order to blend in. It began with using an American name. That experience led me to MIKE.
MIKE is a coming-of-age story inspired by the international student community. There are one million of us residing in the United States, and 36% of us report experiencing mental health issues and identity crises. Similar to my experience, these students cope with ignorance on a daily basis while trying to fulfill their social desires as human beings.
"Stop being yourself" becomes a survival mechanism. Long before you know it, you become unsure of who you were.
I want to explore the genuine comedy and pain that stemmed from this situation. Through this short, I hope international students will feel seen and also brave enough to be proud of who they are.
Set entirely on the first day of school, Hiep Nguyen is a Vietnamese student going on an exchange program at a Christian high school in South Dakota.
At school, Hiep stumbles through the challenges of conforming to an environment of all-white, religious Midwesterners who only know about Vietnam through the Vietnam War. As he tries to fit in with the new environment, Hiep seeks to befriend Christian, who is rumored to be a quarter Vietnamese.
Through these obstacles, Hiep will have to ask himself: Should I accept myself wholly, or should I NOT BE MYSELF in order to connect with others within this school?
MIKE seeks to resemble a bittersweet memory of high school. There's a sense of contrast within those memories of teenage angst - and we will deliver just that through a progession of compositions and colors.
COMPS
Our inspiration includes THE FAREWELL, which utilized composition to evoke comedy within a very dramatic situation; We also enjoy LADY BIRD & ATLANTA: FUBU for their ability to use color to reflect a protagonist's progression.
COLOR
Hiep's journey will have a WARM color palette ... until it doesn't. We want to invite the audience into this memory as if it's their own. However, when our protagonist has to make an ultimate choice of whether to be true to himself or not, the world turns COLD.
COMPOSITIONS
The journey Hiep embarks on is filled with ups and downs, and we want you to experience what that feels like through tracking shots, offbeat angles, and handheld movements. Act I consists of a variety of wide & medium offbeat angles to signify otherness. Act II consists of multiple handheld shots as Hiep takes braver choices and Act III is coordinated with traditional, stabilized angles to signify a return to normalcy.
To reflect the message of diversity presented within the short, We are crewing mostly international students and minorities, who can resonate with the theme of isolation and loneliness that MIKE wants to deliver. Furthermore, our multinational MIKE team are all students of the highly-prestigious USC Film Production program.
When you pledge, you are not only pledging to MIKE - you are pledging to the careers of a diverse group of up-and-coming filmmakers, who want to keep on entertaining you and others. Your pledge would help make this film the springboard needed for us to keep on telling more important stories about diversity & immigration.
In order for us to deliver the best product possible, we want to ensure the well-being of our team is taken care of. Therefore, you can expect your pledge to go toward things such as:
- Medical kits, COVID tests & face masks
- Quality meals & crafty for all involved in the production
- Transportation to and from set for any actors & crewmembers
- Insurance & contingency for any emergency events and to keep the set safe
- High-performance gear necessary to carry out the story's vision
If your pledge helps us reach our goal, we would be able to deliver the fully finished film by August 2023, with the hope of putting MIKE in major film festivals during the fall season circuit.
Plus, our incentives are just very fun.
Please follow our Seed & Spark, social media, and TikTok. You do not have to pledge to follow them. They are free and will be regularly updated to post various facts about international student life in America. Furthermore, every once in a while, our crew or actors might jump in to give you some fun updates.
- Instagram: @mikeshortfilm
- Tiktok: @mikeshortfilm
Please share our Seed & Spark or social media platform if you find it informative and helpful. We appreciate any interaction we have, and it will help us take one step at a time toward our goal of creating a meaningful film with a well-fed crew :)
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
CAMERA
Costs $5,500
We can't showcase what you've pledged if we don't have anything to record with!
MEALS & CRAFTY
Costs $3,650
We'd like to feed everyone on our cast & crew the highest quality meals they deserve ❤️
Production Design, Props & Set Dressing
Costs $3,700
Turning Los Angeles into South Dakota will not be an easy task for our art team!
Post-Production
Costs $1,400
The final, very important touch to ensure the film looks, sounds, and feels great!
Sound Design & Composing Fee
Costs $1,000
The most underrated part of making an experience feel fully completed!
Hard Drive
Costs $861
High-quality works require high-quality data storage for excellent editing and safe-keeping!
Transportation
Costs $1,600
Help get our crew and equipment to-and-from set safely!
Location
Costs $1,500
We need your pledges to help secure our shooting locations!
Insurance & Contingency
Costs $1,500
Every production needs insurance to keep our team safe and sound!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
ABOUT THE TEAM
MIKE's family reflects the demographics represented in the short: mostly international students and minorities.
Therefore, our team is extremely multinational, with individuals coming from Vietnam, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and more. Furthermore, all crewmembers are MFA candidates of the prestigious USC Film/TV Production program, with an acceptance rate of 3%. Aside from their evident talent and passion for filmmaking, each crewmembers are thoroughly evaluated by USC faculty and mentors before peing selected to work on a project of this scale.
Lastly, but most importantly, each of us has worked with one another before on other projects and are all committed to ensure we deliver the message film as crystal clear as it cans.
TEAM DESCRIPTION
Duc Anh Nguyen - Writer/Director: A Ho Chi Minh City native, ever since Duc Anh got introduced to cinema, he knew he wanted to contribute to the powerful world of telling stories through visual language. He is among the selected few to helm a thesis project under USC’s guidance, and looks forward to furthering Vietnamese representation in film through his work as a writer and director.
Janine Zhang - Producer: Janine is an Asian female artist with a multi-cultural background and experience in filmmaking, architecture, and business. Before starting her MFA in Film Production at USC, she earned a bachelor's degree in Communications at NYU.
Chris Merola - Producer: Chris is a filmmaker from Long Island, New York (don’t worry, the accent only comes out when he’s frustrated). Before starting at USC, he earned a Bachelor’s in Psychology at Fordham University. He likes to refer to people as ‘gamer/s’ just to throw them off a bit - life is more fun with a little of the unexpected.
Nobutaka Emura - Director of Photography: Nobu is a hungry cinematographer and filmmaker from Nagoya city, Japan. Before starting his MFA at USC, Nobu worked for Cosmo Space in Japan, where he helped to shoot numerous live concerts in arenas and baseball stadiums across Japan, China and South Korea.
Ji Lee - Assistant Director: Ji Lee is a feminist queer filmmaker from Seoul, Korea. She is a writer, director, editor, and photographer. She hopes that every film she makes can be a warm and sweet poem for anyone who keeps sadness inside.
Raza Rizvi - Production Designer: Raza Rizvi is a filmmaker from the Bay Area and is currently a MFA student at USC focusing on writing, directing, and production design. He has written and directed a microbudget feature film and short comedy film that have toured the festival circuit and done production design for multiple short films and commercials. Raza is passionate about making and designing thematically provocative and intimate films that explore the deeper relationships between people.
Shan Jiang - Production Designer: Shan Jiang is a director, cinematographer and production designer born and raised in China, currently based in LA. His films focus on social change and intimate relationships.
Yo Chang - Production Sound: Yo was born in Taipei, Taiwan. She is currently pursuing her MFA degree in Film and TV Production from USC, School of Cinematic Arts. Yo is interested in the contradictions that humanity itself possesses, she wants to make films that ease conflicts and merge contradictions. She hopes that through her films she can bring warmth, smiles, and courage to wounded souls. To make people enjoy and embrace the weirdness that lives in us.