Centerpiece Screening: New Wave

The short No More Sad Songs plays before New Wave

New Wave tells the story of youthful rebellion, joy, and trauma among Vietnamese American teenagers in the 1980s who found an outlet with Eurodisco music, which influenced Vietnamese American “New Wave” music. Filmmaker Elizabeth Ai delves into the lives affected by this era and this musical movement – including New Wave icon Lynda Trang Dai and Ian “DJ BPM” Nguyen.

It was not just music, but a movement. Yet New Wave’s emotional core is found in Ai’s personal journey – a journey not as emotionally disparate from those of the New Wave legends as one might expect. New Wave features the fashion, the moves, the heart, and the drugs that took the youth of the Vietnamese American community by storm. It uncovers that the Euro-synth dance beats and aesthetics helped mask deep traumas and unfulfilled expectations of that time period. Over the course of making the film, Ai discovers her need to chase and tell this story to address the abandonment from her own mother, and as a way for her to find closure and healing.

New Wave expertly crafts its telling and exploration of generational trauma, cultural identity, and the lasting effects of war in a fun, yet heartwarming way. Dramatized recreations used in the film were wonderful connective tissues that kept the narrative running. Ai’s starting point on this documentary comes six months after giving birth to her first child. Years later, she accomplished a beautiful story that is unknown to many.

By Van B. Nguyen