A California native, Elizabeth Ai is a Chinese Vietnamese American award-winning filmmaker, storyteller, and author. Her debut feature documentary, NEW WAVE, premiered in competition at the 2024 Tribeca Festival, earning a Special Jury Mention for Best New Documentary Director and critical acclaim from The New York Times, Vogue, IndieWire, Los Angeles Times, and San Francisco Chronicle. The New York Times selected it as a festival Critics’ Pick, calling it “a soft scream of a film” about ’80s Vietnamese diaspora culture, while Vogue praised its revelatory storytelling.
She is the author of New Wave: Rebellion and Reinvention in the Vietnamese Diaspora and an Emmy winner and nominee for her branded content with ESPN, VICE, and National Geographic. She created the original pilot for VICE/Munchies’ Bong Appétit, which was later picked up for a series on Viceland. Her producing credits include Dirty Hands, Saigon Electric, Ba, and A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem.
An alum of Sundance, Tribeca, Berlinale, and Firelight Media, Ai’s work has been supported by the Center for Asian American Media, Cinereach, Ford Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
