David Siev (Bad Axe)

Midwest-born and raised, David is a first-generation Cambodian-Mexican-American filmmaker. His SXSW award-winning feature debut BAD AXE captures his closely-knit Asian American family living in rural Michigan during the pandemic as they fight to keep their local restaurant and American dream alive. With rising racial tensions, the family uses their voice and must unite as they reckon with backlash from a divided community, white supremacists, and intergenerational trauma from Cambodia's "killing fields." David speaks to Tiller about starting to film his family with no idea where it was going (3:45), finding universality in his family's story (12:26), the American Experience (17:28), his editing process (21:01), including himself in the narrative (30:01), and screening the film for his family and town for the first time (39:58).