Steve Nguyen (born December 30, 1985) is an American director, writer, artist and music producer. Nguyen and fellow director Choz Belen formed Studio APA, a multimedia collective that specializes in the production of animated films, children's books and music.[1]
In 2009, Nguyen directed and produced a short documentary film titled "The Making of a Memoir" in collaboration with Vietnamese author Lac Su to promote his HarperCollins published memoir, I Love Yous Are For White People.[2][3] The documentary helped Su gain national exposure and has been featured on CNN,[4]NPR,[5] the Saigon Broadcasting Television Network, and KSCI.
In association with the nuclear disarmament campaign, Global Zero, Nguyen hosted a travel documentary segment titled "Hiroshima Revisited" as a follow-up effort to commemorate the 68th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing.[15][16]
Illustration and books
In June 2020, Nguyen released his first children's book with Skyhorse Publishing and Simon and Schuster titled To Baby From Daddy, which features his own illustrations and personal composition of paternal love and advice to his baby daughter.[17]
Online media
Along with Kevin Hsieh, Nguyen was the co-founder of ChannelAPA.com, a defunct online news source that started in 2008 that posted current news updates and video interviews about Asian Americans in mainstream/independent media. According to KoreAm Magazine and Myx TV, it was featured as one of the top Asian American news sources to follow.[18] In November 2012, Nguyen and Belen launched a multi-media creative collective called Studio APA that serves as both a film production and dedicated YouTube channel.
In 2010, Nguyen directed YouTube singer-songwriter Megan Lee's music video for her first official single, "Love, Laugh, & Live".[19]
On February 4, 2013, Nguyen produced and released a short film with The Jubilee Project and Jeremy Lin titled "The Last Pick," which can be viewed on Lin's personal YouTube channel.[20] In November 2013, it was announced on Allkpop that Nguyen and Korean hip-hop artists, Tiger JK and Yoon Mi-rae, have collaborated on an animated music video for their single, "Turn It Up", which is featured on CHOPS' upcoming album, Strength in Numbers. The full version of the music video was released on January 15, 2014.[21]
On April 18, 2014, Nguyen, Belen, and Queens-based rapper Awkwafina released an animated lyric video for her single, 'Flu Shot', off of her Yellow Ranger debut album.[22]
On September 28, 2015, Nguyen premiered a collaboration project with the global campaign, A World at School, titled, R I S E, at The Town Hall in New York City.[23] In association with Christian hip hop artist Lecrae and the help of Theirworld founder Sarah Brown, the project was created to raise awareness and to pressure governments to act on providing universal education across the globe.[24] Since early 2015, he has served as a Global Ambassador to the nonprofit, Theirworld, to help bring awareness to the cause and share global youth stories through graphic novelization.[25][26]
Nguyen and Belen collaborated with Los Angeles electro-pop band, Mansions on the Moon, to produce a music video for their upcoming single, "Heart of the Moment". The project was released in October 2015.[27]
In January 2017, Studio APA released the animated visuals for K-pop star Ailee's US debut, "Fall Back", via Vevo in conjunction with Westside Entertainment.[28]
On January 23, 2020, Nguyen released a personal short animated documentary on his Facebook account titled Blast Burn that deals with the miscarriage of his son.
