It reminded me of my grandparents in Hong Kong, tellsVogue.
Every family gathering my grandmother would leave halfway through to go play mahjong.
Dustin Nguyen and Hiep Tran Nghia inThe Accidental Getaway Driver.
Photo: Ron Batzdorff
The idea of home lost and found is another theme.
You dont feel like youre in Los Angeles.
It has this beating heart and confidence in identity, and the warmth you feel is infectious.
Dustin Nguyen and Hiệp Trần Nghĩa inThe Accidental Getaway Driver.
People are walking memories, and certain generations have been custodians of their traditions.
But each generation struggles with its own identity.
They have plastic chairs out front, and everybody just troops down with their own boards and chess pieces.
Photo: Sing J. Lee
Its not planned; they just know that everyones going to be there.
I knew immediately one of the scenes would be filmed therewhichever one, we would figure it out.
Each shop has its own character and personality.
Photo: Sing J. Lee
Its this amalgamation of vendors, from food to hair to electronics.
The huge parking lot is always full.
You really do have this cacophony of life.
Photo: Sing J. Lee
Many of the background actors were the proprietors or customersa beautiful collaboration of real life and fiction.
The hair salons have these sun-bleached photos of Caucasian men and women, blond hair, blue eyes.
I found that very curious because the clientele is definitely not that.
Photo: Sing J. Lee
The four characters in the film are all in different stages of assimilation.
But as modernity happens, parking lots are built, generations change, culture shifts.
These old values eventually become homeless or cumbersome, but they are stubborn and remain.
Life builds around them.
It reminded me of what our relatives may have gone through.
Thai Hiens Home
Thai Hien is an incredible Vietnamese performer.
Her father, Pham Duy, is one of the most influential Vietnamese musicians of his generation.
They both use music to keep stories and history alive.
Theres this authorship of generational stories that get lost because theyre not written or recorded.
It was a privilege to have Thai Hiens voice in the film.
Her walls at home are lined with the musical artwork of her whole family.
She sits there with generations of voices that shes a custodian of.
I think a good place has a simple menu.
This place has a simple menu, and we ate there a lot.
I come from a somewhat humble background.
My parents own a Chinese takeaway in Wrexham [in Wales].
At these places I already feel connected to that, and thats what I wanted to beautify.
When choosing locations, they might not necessarily be tourist attractionsit would be where real life happens.
The Accidental Getaway Driveris in theaters in select cities now and nationwide on March 7.
