Bao Nguyen

Directing

Bao Nguyen

Bao Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American documentary film director, cinematographer and producer. He is best known for his work on the documentary films Julian, Live from New York!, Be Water, and The Greatest Night in Pop.

Known For

RomRom · 2020
Rom
6.92020
MovieDramaAction
14-year-old Ròm works as bookie lottery runner to earn a living. He lives an unsettling life due to his separation from his parents and always yearns to earn enough money to find them.
The Greatest Night in PopThe Greatest Night in Pop · 2024
The Greatest Night in Pop
7.92024
MovieDocumentaryMusic
On a January night in 1985, music's biggest stars gathered to record "We Are the World." This documentary goes behind the scenes of the historic event.
BTS: THE RETURNBTS: THE RETURN · 2026
BTS: THE RETURN
8.52026
MovieDocumentaryMusic
They're back! BTS gathers in LA to record their album "Arirang" in this documentary offering unprecedented access to the band as they enter a new era.
Saigon ElectricSaigon Electric · 2011
Saigon Electric
7.02011
MovieMusic
Mai, a ribbon dancer from the countryside arrives in Saigon and befriends Kim, a street dancer. A promise of a better life leads their dance crew to the big competition, but a romance with a rich kid threatens to derail Kim's plans.
Be WaterBe Water · 2020
Be Water
6.82020
MovieDocumentary
In 1971, after being rejected by Hollywood, Bruce Lee returned to his parents’ homeland of Hong Kong to complete four iconic films. Charting his struggles between two worlds, this portrait explores questions of identity and representation through the use of rare archival footage, interviews with loved ones and Bruce’s own writings.
The Dream is a SnailThe Dream is a Snail · 2026
The Dream is a Snail
2026
MovieComedy
79th Festival de Cannes — Short Film Palm d’Or, In Competition. A struggling young artist takes an odd job as a human racetrack in a senior rejuvenation workshop, only to develop an obsession with the hypnotic sensation of snails gliding across his skin.
Live from New York!Live from New York! · 2015
Live from New York!
5.92015
MovieComedyDocumentary
Saturday Night Live has been reflecting and influencing life in the United States for forty years. LIVE FROM NEW YORK! goes deep inside this television phenomenon exploring the laughter that pulses through American politics, tragedy, and pop culture.
The Stringer: The Man Who Took the PhotoThe Stringer: The Man Who Took the Photo · 2025
The Stringer: The Man Who Took the Photo
7.92025
MovieDocumentary
A two-year investigation uncovers a scandal behind the making of one of the most recognized photographs of the 20th century. Five decades of secrets are unraveled in the search for justice for a man known only as "the stringer."

Filmography

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GritGrit · 2018
Grit
4.02018
MovieDocumentary
When Dian was six years old, she heard a deep rumble and turned to see a tsunami of mud barreling towards her village. Her mother scooped her up to save her from the boiling mud. Her neighbors ran for their lives. Sixteen villages, including Dian's, were wiped away, forever buried under 60 feet of mud. A decade later, 60,000 people have been displaced from what was once a thriving industrial and residential area in East Java. Dozens of factories, schools and mosques are completely submerged under a moonscape of ooze and grit. The cause? Lapindo, an Indonesian company drilling for natural gas in 2006, unleashed a violent, unstoppable flow of hot sludge from the earth's depths. It is estimated that the mudflow will not end for another decade. Shot over the course of six years, GRIT bears witness to Dian's transformation from young girl to a politically active teenager as she and her mother launch a resistance campaign against the drilling company.

Director of Photography