The film begins with Mai saying, “How do you say ‘love’ in Vietnamese?” as Mai walks along the road with her sister and Dad. We flashback two years from Mai’s POV as she remembers the last time she spent with her grandpa, Ông Nội.

Mai is left at home with Ông Nội while her Dad is at work and her sister is at a playdate. Mai is reluctant to connect to her grandpa because they have different ways of doing things and he speaks a language that she doesn’t speak. Through a series of events such as Mai asking Ông Nội to help her make the lemonade or drawing the lemonade sign, we see the subtle miscommunication between them as they try to bond. However, as the day unfolds, Mai slowly learns about Ông Nội’s past in Vietnam as she spends more time with him. 

Just as they begin to understand each other, their connection quickly breaks when Ông Nội accidentally spills the lemonade onto the driveway after a miscommunication. With no viable lemons left and the day ending, she can no longer make the lemonade stand she was hoping for. She gets angry at her grandpa and leaves him with the mess. That night, Ông Nội makes an effort to apologize, but she doesn’t do anything to make amends.

The film flashes forward to the opening scene. Mai and her family are walking to Ông Nội’s funeral. The last memory she had with him was the lemonade incident, and she makes one last attempt to make it up to him.

This story is important to tell because Asian Americans, immigrants, and refugees often face generational barriers as a result of moving to a different country in pursuit of a better life. These barriers are created not only by language differences, assimilation, and survival, but also by the ways people show love. Being raised in different countries and cultures, love is expressed differently, which can create gaps that lead to misunderstandings, guilt, and disconnection. These nuances and internalized emotions are often handled quietly and are rarely brought to light.

This story is especially important to tell now because in a world full of division and unrest, it’s easy to let barriers and conflicts come between us. In this uncertain time, it is crucial to turn to those who love and support us and to express our love before it’s too late.

"When I was younger I was always hesitant to bond with my grandpa because we didn’t speak the same language. He spoke Vietnamese and I spoke English. The last moment I had with him was when my Dad asked me to play a game with my grandpa and I refused because that would mean that I would have to explain it to him. I didn’t know if he would understand me. I ended up watching my sister play with him. That was the last time I saw him, and I regret letting the language barrier get in the way of our bond. It made me wonder and worry about whether he knew that I loved him.

This story is about love, regret, language barriers, the concept of time and perspective, and the moments you have with someone without knowing it."

- Emily Nguyen (Writer/Director)

Featuring the photography of Ashleigh Coleman, stills from the short film "Caroline" (2018), and stills from the film, Minari (2020).

Check out our timeline!

This film is now in pre-production, and we are shooting from April 23rd to April 26th.

We are planning to raise $7,000 in 30 days for this production. Your donations directly fund taking care of our cast & crew, locations, transportation, rentals, etc. To help you understand where we will be using our funds, here's a breakdown of our wishlist.

Your Support Funds:

• Locations: We need two key locations to bring Ông Nội to life: Mai’s home and the funeral home.
• Transportation: Help us with transportation from location to location whether its cast/crew or rented equipment over the course of four days.
• Food: Help feed our cast and crew with nutrition for our four shoot days! Support from restaurants and catering in NYC are especially welcome!
• Camera and G&E: Support us in covering camera and g & e rentals that support Ông Nội’s visual language.
• Production Design: From set dressing Mai’s bedroom, a kitchen, and a funeral home to building a lemonade stand help us cover all production design needs.
• Post-Production: Help us in covering post production costs such as sound design, color, and editing so that we can get the final film to you.

- CONTRIBUTE by making a pledge to our film, or simply sharing this page with your friends and family. Every penny counts as we must reach 80% of the goal to receive any of the funds. 

- SPREAD THE WORD by sending our Seed&Spark to people you know or anyone you think would be interested in the project! You can copy this link!

- FOLLOW us on Seed & Spark and on Instagram (@ongnoifilm) to stay updated on our project’s journey!