The  shooting will be in late April and the Post-production will begin from May to Septemeber 2016. I must need the funding from now until then.  As an international student who makes film in the US, as a woman who makes film, I really need your support.
Let me tell you about my thesis, then maybe you would like to donate for "Ruby" yes?

1. Ruby is such a sweet talented little girl. Yes she is…and this is how I started this thesis


In 2014, I got a chance to stay with my close female friend, who was divorced at that time, and her 7-year-old daughter Ruby for two months in California. Ruby was too little to understand what was going on with her parents.  At age 7, Ruby posted a video clip on YouTube which conveyed a message ““Hey guys, my parents got a divorce, can you help me?”. My tears went down. Witnessing what my friend and Ruby went through made me feel deeply sad which tightened my heart.
I started noting what I saw and what I felt and told myself that I would do something, in my capability, to help people understand better how a kid feels during a divorce, thereby figuring out what we should do to help them adjust to the new situation constructively.

When I had a chance to choose the topic for my thesis, I remembered Ruby and her mom and it was clear what topic I wanted to have for my thesis.  Later, I thought it would be a good idea to get other people from the community involved to share their stories, so I posted a note on my Facebook page, asking others to share stories and memories about their lives and whether they come from a divorced family. I received many stories from them. Each has different story, yet they were essentially the same in the end. Reading those messages helped me to have a clearer concept for the idea of my thesis movie.


I decided to ask her and her Mom if she wanted to be an actor in a short film. I got full support from both of them. Ruby told me that this is her playing out her own life–she is ready and she will do it well. This is such a blessing, because not only do I have my main actress who is born for the role, but also, this is an opportunity for Ruby to practice and to have her talents supported. I decided to keep her real name for the character as well. “Ruby” is created from the real Ruby. And “Ruby” will be played by the real Ruby. To me, this should be a great start for a movie.


2. An-Hy – Ruby’s best friend


An-Hy is a 7 year old girl who's the daughter of one of my very close friends. They live in Sacramento, CA. Let me tell you why she is special and why she will be a great, interesting subject for my thesis. 

An-Hy has a special talent – she started gymnastics training at the age of 4. It is not an exaggeration when people say she can even fly. An-Hy is very nimble. She surprises everyone with her quickness and agility (that is, she jumps, flips, and climbs all the time). One moment you can see her at a distance but within a blink of an eye, she is already behind your back climbing up on the door. An-Hy has won multiple gold medals in local gymnastic meets both in individual events as well as the all-around. She is a member of the Level 3B team at Elevate Gymnastics in Elk Grove, CA.

 Beside this talent, An-Hy has another surprising talent that rarely comes from a little kid, and which she inherits from her Mom. She can cook!


An-Hy, her 10 year old sister and her Mom are famous among the local community for the delicious and beautiful food they cook. They basically can cook all kinds of food but Vietnamese food is their specialty. An-Hy’s Mom, Mrs. Loan does not cook for any commercial purposes (what I mean here is that she is not a chef, a cook or working in a restaurant), she cooks as a passion of her life. Food are not just delicious tasting but they must look beautiful and even can soothe the stresses.

3. An-Hy’s Mom –Mrs. Loan and how she inspired me


Mrs. Loan has her own cooking blog called “The Spices of Life”. Her blog is full of wonderful Vietnamese food recipes. It is always Loan’s wish to help her international friends learn more about and love Vietnamese food.



Not only does she love cooking, but Loan is also very active in charity work. She uses her food blog as a platform to transfer her message of spreading the love and giving help to those who are in need. Here is what she wrote on her blog: “A while back, one of my blog readers sent me an email asking me a few questions in Vietnamese: "Mục đích của Loan đăng trên blog về ẩm thực là có mục đích gì? Và ước nguyện của Loan sẽ làm gì sau này về ẩm thực?" Translation: " What is the purpose of your food blog? And what do you wish to pursue with your food blog?" I recall writing back to him a long note. I told him that I wanted to use my blog Vietspices to create the Spices of Life (Hương Vị Cuộc Sống) Foundation to help others. I envision something that extends beyond my daily bread to encompass the basics of daily living – food, clothing, shelter - for those less fortunate.” An-Hy is helping her Mom to cook every day. Her passion with cooking comes naturally from her wonderful family. And at the young age of 7, she can cook a full meal with incredible dishes. You can hardly tell they’re from a little kid.

LINK TO HER FOOD BLOG

4. What are the special things about the movie?

- Both Ruby and An-Hy will be played by real Ruby and An-Hy


- They both play themselves and showcase their own talents.
- The key scene will be the cooking scene of the two little girls. This is rarely seen in movies.


- The cooking scene will be filmed and shot beautifully as real cooking. You will be able to see the dishes prepared. The food will almost be a character of the film. I hope that the audience will be able to almost smell the food as it is cooked.  To introduce a beautiful part of our Vietnamese culture - food, that is also one significance goal of the movie.

Also, this will be mixed with both comedy and action. An-Hy will not only show her cooking skill with Ruby, but also she will run, climb or even “fly” while cooking.


- Beside all the potential elements that will make this movie special. Above all, the movie tells a simple story that happens to so many people out there. Everyone who comes from the same situation will be able to relate to what is happening in the film. Everything will be watched and looked at from a little kid’s point of view. A kid’s world is so pure and innocent. They think simple, they act simple and they hope for simple things to happen. Yet the adults’ world is so complicated and the grown-up people might never know how much they hurt a kid. And sadly, that is life.

And you know, as a backer, you're helping me to bring all these special things into reality. And you are a part of them!

5. Meet me - Hà Kin: Director/Director of Photography of "Ruby"


- I graduated from The Institute for International Relations – majoring in International Law. I became a Diplomat at the Foreign Ministry after the graduation. But only a year later, I quit everything to pursue my life passion with visual arts. I always wanted to become a Film-maker. I started by experimenting as a story-teller. Shortly after I quit being a diplomat, I had a best-selling book in Vietnam. My book “New York love stories” became a phenomenon. The book also made its mark for being the first book that enclosed an audio CD with each printed copy, something that has not been done ever before. The CD narrates some parts of the story with background scores that make people think they are not reading a book but they are watching a movie.


- After my first success, I planned my journey to dive into the visual world. I moved from printed word story teller to a visual story maker. I wanted to bring all those words into moving images. I bought my first DSLR camera and started learning about photography and visual art. Within six months, I embarked on my first trip around the world. I wanted to travel, photograph, film and experience the world’s cultures, thus to enrich my life skills of becoming a film maker. Amazingly, all of my travels were financed from my photography work.


6. Why this project needs funding? Why I need your help?


- The movie will cost as much as 10 times my current savings as a student.

- In Film-making, the more funding you have, the better it can support my talents in making a solid movie. More funding can bring this film from good to great. With proper funding I can rent the proper equipment that will be sufficient for the job. I can hire a Producer and skilled crew. I can afford to rent better locations and pay for the props. Additionally, I need a post-production team, including a visual effects editor and a composer to score the movie. Strong funding for this project will allow me to hire highly skilled individuals on to my crew. A highly skilled crew will result in a solid stream-lined production.

--> Your support will help to support talents and bring to life an qualified artwork. 

7. Funding Milestones


8. How the money will be spent?



9. Why your support is very precious to me?

- My passion for film making will be visible in this film. I’ve been working had and I have come a long way. This is a wonderful opportunity for me to showcase all the skills that I have learned. This film marks the end of my being a student and the beginning of my being a professional film-maker. It encompasses all that I have learned so far and the passion that I have to continue my art of film making into a career. I want to bring Vietnamese cinema and culture to the world.

- This movie will not only support me, but also Ruby, An-Hy, they are extremely talented little kids and this movie will help them to showcase their talents and make their dreams come true. 

- This movie will be the door to open me to the film-making world. I want to do it well, because this will be an opportunity for the film world to recognize my talents and support me to become a member of it, especially as a woman film-maker. So…. I definitely need your support and as I have mentioned in the video. I will do my best to worth your every dollar!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU