Sometimes it’s just an honor to be not quite nominated.
Just ask UCLA graduate film student Ham Tran.
Tran’s short film “The Anniversary” fell
barely short of one of five nominations for this year’s
Academy Awards after being selected as one of 10 finalists in the
Best Live-Action Short category. And while this may come as
disappointing news to some, Tran says he likes to keep his spirits
high.
“For me, it’s not so much about the Academy
recognition,” said Tran. “It’s just another day.
I’m really just happy to have made it on the short
list.”
As for the film, “The Anniversary” is far from being
forgotten. In addition to being a finalist for the Oscar
nomination, “The Anniversary” has won 23 awards from
various film festivals, 18 of those being best short-film
awards.
“Over half of the finalists were war films,” said
Tran. “So I feel like that might have made it a more
difficult field of competition for me.”
While the recognition of “The Anniversary” ““
in which all the dialogue is in Vietnamese ““ has attracted a
lot of attention from a few big-name Hollywood producers, Tran says
he’s simply not interested in making a crossover film.
“I’ve been asked, “˜Can we cast Lucy
Liu?’ I mean, she’s not even Vietnamese,” said
Tran. “I guess you just have to pick and choose your battles,
and, for me, making an authentic film is really
important.”
For Tran, most of the classic films about the Vietnam War have
come from an entirely American perspective. His film, as told from
the perspective of a Buddhist monk, offers a view of the war as a
civil conflict that tore apart the lives of many families living in
Vietnam at the time.
“Six out of 10 families were separated by this war,”
said Tran. “I feel like most of the time, all of the other
films done by Hollywood don’t really address the issue. The
lives of those living in Vietnam during the war are left in the
background.”
As for the future, Tran says he’s always interested in
expanding his coverage as a filmmaker. However, telling stories of
the Vietnam War in his films is a theme he is going to stick with
for now.
“I think I just need to get it out of my system for a
while,” said Tran. “”˜The Anniversary’
really just is a beginning for me, a story that needs to be
told.”
His recent success even has his parents feeling more confident
in his future. While they have always been supportive, the recent
recognition has helped them to realize the importance of taking
things one step at a time.
“They don’t understand the concept of a short film,
really,” he said. “It’s really just my calling
point; the short just shows people with a limited time and budget
that I can achieve the same things a longer film can.”