Trinh T. Minh-ha
Trinh T. Minh-ha was born in Vietnam, and she is a filmmaker, writer and composer. She is the recipient of several grants and awards, such as the “Trailblaizers” Award at MIPDOC and the AFI National Independent Filmmaker Maya Deren Award, along with fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundations, Rockefeller Foundation, and the American Film Institute. Trinh Minh-ha has traveled and lectured in the States, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealan. Her lectures are on film, art, feminism, and cultural politics. She taught at the National Conservatory of Music in Dakar, Senegal, at universities like Cornell, San Francisco State, Smith, Harvard, and Ochanomizu in Tokyo. She is a Professor of Women's Studies and Rhetoric (Film) at the University of California, Berkeley.
Her works as a filmmaker are:
Night Passage (2004)
The Fourth Dimension (2001)
A Tale of Love (1995)
Shoot for the Contents (1991)
Surname Viet Given Name Nam (1989)
Naked Spaces - Living is Round (1985)
Reassemblage (1982)
She also has a number of books, installations, and musical compositions. I did not get a chance to see any films or trailers but by reading the descriptions of the film it seems that she really focuses on the image. She tries to encompass feeling and humanity through an image that seems almost like a fantasy. Many of her films are mostly about women's journeys in life, political issues, such as the Tiennamen Square event, and deeper issues such as identity, culture, and humanity. I think that these are issues that are important to portray in film because they are not often seen in film. Seeing images about these issues can be a very powerful experience and I think it is great that she makes films about issues she is passionate about. I would really like to see a film of hers one day.
This is a link to her website, in which one can view descriptions of all of her films, books, installations, and music compositions. http://www.trinhminh-ha.com/
Her website lists 10 locations that one could buy her films, and these are spread across Japan, Australia, France, Britain, U.S.-New York, Korea, Germany. One can also buy her films from the Women Make Movies website. Other than that I believe that I would only be able to view her films at film festivals or indie movie theatres. I found her because I was reading an article about "Women of Color Filmmakers" in the New York Times online. Other than that I do not think I would ever have heard of her, and it is pretty difficult to find her online unless you search directly for her.