Viet Voice

A Focus On Nails at the Viet Film Fest

by Staff | April 12, 2016 | Bookmark +

Join us on Sunday, April 17th, at the Viet Film Fest as we celebrate the Vietnamese nail industry. Viet Film Fest is featuring a whole screening dedicated to nails!

Sunday, April 17th, at AMC Orange 30 at The Outlets at Orange (20 City Blvd West Suite E, Orange, CA 92868):

1:00 - 2:00 PM: Pop Up Nail Salon, sponsored by Advance Beauty College

2:00 - 3:20 PM: Set 11: Painted Nails (Click here to buy tickets.)

3:20 - 4:30 PM: Q&A Panel — The Nail Industry, a Legacy and Continued Activism

Most of the Viet Film Fest screenings are $12. The Q&A Panel is free to attend and open to the public. Please come out to support the Vietnamese nail community!

Screenings featured during Set 11: Painted Nails


1. #NailedIt: Vietnamese & the Nail Industry, long story short (15 min.)


This is a shortened version of Adele Pham’s thought-provoking documentary on the rise, struggle, stereotypes, and steady hold Vietnamese-Americans have on today’s eight billion dollar nail industry.

2. I Can’t Be Your Superman Music Video (4 min.)


Director Maegan Houang tells a surreal tale about a manicurist who is forced to resort to unconventional methods to fight off gangsters in the nail salon in which she works in this short film/music video hybrid.

3. Painted Nails Documentary (57 min.)


In this feature-length documentary, directors/producers Erica Jordan and Dianne Griffin follow Van Nguyen, a nail salon owner and worker in the Mission District of San Francisco, who becomes a resolute activist in the fight to regulate chemicals in personal care products, advocating for the safety of nail salon workers and their clientele after she herself suffers health issues.

Panelists on The Nail Industry, a Legacy and Continued Activism

There will be ten people on the Q&A panel after the screenings:


From #NailedIt Documentary:

Thuan Le, one of the Original 20 Vietnamese nail techs

Dusty Butera, the first nail instructor for the Original 20 Vietnamese nail techs

Adele Pham, director


From I Can’t Be Your Superman:

Maegan Houang, director


From Painted Nails Documentary:

Van Nguyen, salon owner and activist

Dianne Griffin and Erica Jordan, directors


From the Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative:

Lisa Fu, program and outreach director

Tuan Nguyen, industrial hygienist

The moderators for the Q&A panel are VietSALON managing editor Anh Tran and senior editor Kim Pham (that's me!).

We’re really excited for Viet Film Fest this year and can’t wait to see this year’s films. If you take a look at Viet Film Fest’s trailer, you’ll see a clip of our friend, Kelvin St. Pham, who appears in #NailedIt: Vietnamese & the Nail Industry.  


Viet Film Fest takes place April 14-17, most screenings will take place at AMC Orange 30 in Orange, Calif. For more information, visit www.vietfilmfest.com.

You Might Also Like:

The Vietnamese-American Nail Industry: 40 Years of Legacy

Honoring Unsung Nail Hero Dusty Coots Butera

a Bobit media brand

Create your free Bobit Connect account to bookmark content.

The secure and easy all-access connection to your content.
Bookmarked content can then be accessed anytime on all of your logged in devices!

Create Account