Passion, pride, perseverance. To create is not easy, but creating is also an act of joy. Whether it be clothes (Tailor Made), music (Kėo Kéo: Sài Gòn Sound, No More Sad Songs, Woodshed), or even film itself (Mighty Maddy’s Mission to the Future, Thời Thơ Ấu (Childhood)), the films all show the joy and community that comes with creating. Tailor Made follows Tam Nguyen, a tailor who moved from Vietnam to Canada, and has been working for forty-three years. In Woodshed and Kėo Kéo, we see the difficulties of performing music for an audience, as well as its triumphs and joys. No More Sad Songs, Mighty Maddy’s Mission to the Future, and Thời Thơ Ấu (Childhood) explore how creative expression connects families.

No More Sad Songs follows a mother and daughter as they prepare for a gig, Mighty Maddy shows us Mighty Maddy fighting off ninjas and other villains with the help of her parents, and the intimate documentary Thời Thơ Ấu shows us the filmmaker trying to connect and understand her parents better. Though there can be considerable difficulties – emotional, legal, physical – navigating the artistic process, each of these films are a triumph of personal pride, bringing in others to appreciate what they have created.

By Chenglin Lee