Dhoua Hli Vue
Qhia Dab Neeg Spotlight Filmmaker
I see that along with a lot of young Hmong youth around me, is that we’re kind of blending in with society now and losing our culture. And that’s why I’m trying to make this movie called Lost—trying to find my way back home, to find a reason why I’m Hmong. You should be paying attention to the stories around you so you don’t miss anything. And that will make, in my opinion, your stories more powerful.
Dhoua Hli Vue is a young Hmong filmmaker who began making films at the age of four. Her first film, Memory Seeds, explored how memories are passed from one generation to another through the story of a grandfather sharing his memories with his daughter and granddaughter. Since then, Vue has used filmmaking to explore family, grief, healing, identity, and her relationship to Hmong culture. Drawing inspiration from Hmong films, stories shared by elders, and her own life experiences, she views the camera as a space where difficult emotions can be safely expressed and transformed into stories. Her developing projects include Growing Up, an exploration of loss and healing, and Lost, a personal examination of cultural disconnection and her search for a deeper understanding of what being Hmong means to her. Looking toward the future, Vue hopes to become a film teacher and help a new generation of young people develop the skills and confidence to tell their own stories.
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.