Qhia Dab Neeg - 50 Years of Hmong Film in Minnesota

We weren’t just making movies… we were telling stories and people love the stories. They resonate with the stories.Chou Xiong is a Hmong filmmaker, writer, and producer and the founder of Tshajlij Productions. Beginning his work in 2011 without formal training, he developed his craft through self-teaching, hands-on practice, and community collaboration.Working with minimal resources, Chou creates films that blend comedy, horror, and drama, grounded in storytelling that resonates with Hmong audiences. His work emphasizes compassion, humor, and shared cultural experience, using film as a way to connect communities and reflect everyday life.

I want to hear more voices and see more faces out there other than what we see in Hollywood. I want especially Hmong stories because I feel like there aren't enough out there.  It doesn't all have to be about the war. It doesn't all have to be about learning who we are, but it could just be the simple things of what we do, what we eat, what we think about. BiographyBryan Vue was born in Boulong, Laos and raised in Eau Claire, Wisc. He made his first short film at age 14, a fan of Bruce Lee films, he said the martial arts legend inspired him as the only Asian movie star of his childhood that he saw.He received his BA in Psychology from the University of WI-Madison and his Master’s of Social Work from the University of Minnesota. He went on to work for the Wilder Foundation as a caseworker and counselor for years and not works as a social worker for Ramsey County.The film bug never left him, however, and Vue went on to learn professional level filmmaking at IFP MN and perfected his art with family documentaries, short films and industrial projects. He founded Bird’s-Eye Vue Films in 2007.FilmographyThe Stranger 2019Reminiscence 2012Journey From Fallen Skies 2011