Aloha Vietnam

A rich journey across the Pacific Ocean to find one's true home and identity amidst loss, grief, and mental illness.

Anh Nguyen is 17 years old and a senior in high school working on a watercolor art series when she experiences her first manic episode. She is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, put on medications, and she and her Vietnamese-American family are suddenly thrown into the world of mental health treatment and recovery.

Anh's mother Xuan grapples with understanding her daughter's struggles, while also trying to make sense of her own loss and grief of leaving behind her family and motherland of Vietnam to raise her children in America. The family find refuge across the Pacific Ocean on the warm shores of Honolulu, Hawaii. Anh navigates growing up in a refugee family in a new land and culture, and dealing with the struggles of her own mind. She finds solace in her love for the ocean and her art.

This is the story of finding one's identity and place of belonging in a shifting landscape of tradition, heritage, and culture, and the healing power of art, water, and love.