Yeej Moua

Qhia Dab Neeg Spotlight Filmmaker

Don’t be the first, but be the one to continue the stories. We have great people in place...we have all these filmmakers, local or in Hollywood, who are paving the way for us. They can be the first, but you just have to be the one who continues the story.

Yeej Moua is a Hmong American filmmaker, writer, director, and production designer based in the Twin Cities. Born and raised in Montana, Moua earned a BFA in Media Arts with an emphasis in filmmaking and a minor in theater from the University of Montana before moving to Minnesota to pursue his creative practice. His films draw deeply from his own experiences, family relationships, and Hmong American identity, bringing Hmong characters into genres and stories where he rarely saw them represented growing up. His work includes Cotton Candy, The Wind Always Strikes the Highest Mountain, and Bites, and he contributed to the acclaimed Hmong American feature Bitterroot. Alongside his filmmaking, Moua has worked with Hmong youth as an educator and mentor, viewing his role as an artist as part of a larger responsibility to support emerging storytellers and help ensure that Hmong stories continue into the next generation.

Qhia Dab Neeg: 50 Years of Hmong Film in Minnesota has been financed in part with funds provided by the State of Minnesota through the Minnesota Historical Society from the Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.