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Carol Nguyen is a talented 22-year-old filmmaker, based in Toronto and Montreal, who explores the subjects of family, memory and cultural identity within her work. The 2019 documentary, “No Crying at the Dinner Table,” premiered to rave reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) before going on to receive the Jury Prize for Short Documentary at SXSW. Carol’s incredible talent and passion has awarded her recognition as a 2018 Sundance Ignite fellow, Adobe Creativity Scholar and a TIFF Share Her Journey ambassador, a role with a mission to champion female storytellers. Read on to learn more about Carol and what makes her an Amazing Asian in the Arts!
Name: Carol Nguyen
Heritage: Vietnamese Canadian
Hometown:Toronto, Ontario
Current City: Montréal, Québec
Current Project: An animated short documentary.
What are some of your favorite credits/projects?
No Crying at the Dinner Table, Every Grain of Rice, my next projects!
Any advice for young people getting into the arts?
You learn the most from your failures.
How did you get your start?
I fell in love with cinema through a film class in high school.
Do you have any favorite moments in your career that you’d like to share?
My Opening Night Speech at IDFA.
What have you found is the biggest challenge in your career?
Trying to get my foot into the commercial world.
What are some interesting facts about yourself?
I pole dance and play ultimate frisbee.
Do you have any organizations or nonprofits you work with you’d like to highlight?
Black Lives Matter Canada.
Did you always want to be in the arts or did you have another path before you got here?
I flirted between entrepreneurship and law before and even after getting into film.
When did you know you wanted to have a career in the arts?
After I made my first film in 9th grade, a one-minute film called “Within your Confines.”
Did you have any interesting “odd jobs” you worked at between shows to pay the bills?
I briefly worked at my pole studio during the pandemic.
What skills did you find to be the most helpful in your career?
Perseverance is key to anyone heading into the arts field, as work is not the most stable. Finally, good communication skills are necessary in order to have successful collaboration with others.
Where did you study at?
Concordia University.
What is your greatest accomplishment?
My IDFA speech!
What are some goals you hope to achieve?
I would love to direct a feature film, a commercial and music video one day. I kind of want to dip my toes into it all and see what I might like and what I don’t.
What do you love most about what you do?
Being able to touch an audience at the other side of the screen.
What helped you most to rebound from what you considered your biggest failure or mistake in your career?
A strong community and support group.
If you could name one point in time when everything changed for you, what was it?
Not a specific moment, but definitely 2020 as a collective whole.
To find out more about Carol, please visit her at:
Instagram: @carolnguyen_
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