29 years old with famous commercials

Recently, the American media reported on the nomination list for the 76th Emmy Awards. Particularly, products related to the HBO TV series Hacks   (premiered from May 13, 2021) received 17 Emmy nominations, the most prestigious award in the American television industry.

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The short film Hacks: Bit by Bit (a commercial for Hacks ) was nominated for Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series. The scriptwriter and editor for Hacks: Bit by Bit is Nguyen Sieu, 29 years old - the only Vietnamese commercial filmmaker currently at HBO, a globally famous American pay television network. Hacks is a television series that has received much praise from critics and won many awards, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing, Outstanding Director and Outstanding Actress, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Comedy Series. During nearly 3 years working at HBO (formerly at Paramount Network, a famous American cable television channel), Nguyen Sieu has participated in many major projects. In addition to Hacks , we can mention Euphoria , the 4th most watched television series in HBO's history, with an average of 16.3 million views/episode. Nguyen Sieu's commercials and behind-the-scenes videos have contributed significantly to the success of this blockbuster. The behind-the-scenes series Enter Euphoria consists of 8 episodes, of which episode 5 produced by Nguyen Sieu won the bronze medal in the category of outstanding behind-the-scenes video at the 2022 Clio Awards, one of the biggest awards in the marketing industry in the US.

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T succeeded by choosing the Vietnamese approach

According to Nguyen Sieu, he was lucky to have joined HBO, a place that is very suitable for the creative strengths of a versatile artist, not limited to just a few individual skills. "I wrote the script, edited the video, mixed the music, worked with lawyers to ensure the legality of the video, communicated with photographers to collect photos, and directed graphic designers to make the visual part of the video more interesting and smoother," Nguyen Sieu said. In particular, the working environment at HBO allows Sieu to occasionally express ideas that are a bit different from traditional videos. Normally, post-production videos rarely include external elements (such as photos of other people), but only focus on clips in the film and interviews with the producer. But in the video Enter Euphoria - Season 2 Episode 5 , Sieu included two photos by veteran photographer Nan Goldin to compare two scenes of Euphoria to clearly explain where the inspiration for filming came from. Sieu shared: "When I proposed the idea, the creative director of Euphoria really liked it and said, 'Go ahead and do it.'" According to Nguyen Sieu, the reason his creations were recognized by HBO is because they always value individual and different perspectives. Therefore, he does not have to try to turn his perspective into an American perspective. "I always approach every video as a Vietnamese producer. Vietnamese culture often values ​​emotions. Maybe that's why my products have touched the hearts of audiences not only in the US, but also in many other countries," Nguyen Sieu shared.

" College is not a stepping stone to making money"

Looking at the solid position that Nguyen Sieu has established in the American television industry, few people know that 10 years ago his choice made his parents and relatives very worried. As an excellent former student of Hanoi - Amsterdam High School, Sieu was accepted for scholarships by 7 prestigious universities (mostly in the US). Sieu's choice to study art made everyone surprised, because they thought this profession was "difficult, not profitable"... Nguyen Sieu confided: "Studying filmmaking, doing art media like me, after graduating, even if I could get a job in the US, the starting salary would only be about 30,000 - 40,000 USD/year. Very low, very poor, but I want to live with my true passion". According to Nguyen Sieu, he noticed a fundamental difference between the educational ideology in Vietnam and in the US. Vietnamese people consider going to university as a stepping stone to finding a job, with the ultimate goal of having a career and having money to cover living expenses. Americans are the opposite. They consider going to school as an independent experience. Going to school is simply to broaden their knowledge about the field they love. In American universities, students are guided towards their passion, encouraged to study what they like, what they want, instead of thinking too much about making money. Nguyen Sieu's current quite secure position at HBO is the sweet fruit of his journey of daring to pursue his passion, his spirit of learning and his confidence in his own creative ability. Sieu's long-term goal is to be able to write and produce his own TV shows or movies in the future. "Today's Hollywood highly values ​​cultural and personal stories. Therefore, I always use my life experience - a Vietnamese living between two cultures, Vietnamese and American - as material and inspiration for my creations. The creative process is never simple, but I believe that knowing who you are and what your story is is the "secret formula" to achieving success," Nguyen Sieu shared.