THE TEAM
ELIZABETH AI - Director, Producer, p.g.a.
Elizabeth Ai is an Emmy Award-winning producer, filmmaker, writer, and archivist whose work explores identity, memory, and cultural survival. Her debut feature documentary, New Wave, premiered in competition at the 2024 Tribeca Festival, earning a Special Jury Mention for the Albert Maysles Award for New Documentary Director, and won the Grand Jury Award for Best Feature Film at Viet Film Fest—the first time the honor was awarded to a Vietnamese American woman in the festival’s 21-year history. Acclaimed by The New York Times, Vogue, and IndieWire, she is also the author of New Wave: Rebellion and Reinvention in the Vietnamese Diaspora.
RACHEL SINE - Producer, p.g.a.
Rachel Sine is a LA-based producer with experience across branded, digital, and non-fiction media. Past film credits include Justin Chon’s MS. PURPLE (2019) and Yu Gu’s A WOMAN’S WORK: THE NFL’S CHEERLEADER PROBLEM (2019). Currently, she is producing NEW WAVE, set to make its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival 2024. The project is supported by organizations such as Sundance Institute, Ford Foundation, and Cinereach. Outside of her work in film, Rachel dabbles in learning new languages like Urdu, Hindi, Russian, and JavaScript. She keeps the lights on by working as a Software Engineer at The Walt Disney Studios.
HEE-JAE PARK - Editor
Hee-Jae Park is a documentary and commercial editor. His most recent editorial works include Mr. Toilet: The World’s #2 Man (Hot Docs), The Longest War (Showtime), Belly of the Beast (PBS Independent Lens), Jesus is King (IMAX), and Nude (STARZ). He has also assisted on The American Gardner Won’t Die (Olympics), Served Like a Girl (SXSW, PBS Independent Lens), and David Blaine: Beyond Magic (ABC).
GREG BERNALL & CHRIS UPTOWN - Composers
Greg Bernall and Chris Upton are composers, music producers, writers, and best friends. Chris and Greg compose music for commercials, brands, short films, and feature films. With a strong focus on unique storytelling and a DIY ethic, their music has earned them awards in film festivals for best original music.
BRYANT SWANSTROM - Cinematographer
Bryant Swanstrom is an LA-based cinematographer working in the documentary, narrative, and commercial fields. Excelling in lighting, aerial shots, composition, steadicam, and storytelling, his expertise in crafting mood with lighting and capturing stunning aerial perspectives is unmatched. Bryant Swanstrom consistently raises the bar in commercial cinematography, leaving a lasting impact with each project.
SO YUN UM - Co-producer
So Yun Um is a Korean American Director and Producer born and based in Los Angeles. Her directorial debut documentary, LIQUOR STORE DREAMS, about second generation Korean American children of Liquor Store owners in the LA area, made its world premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Festival. So is a 2022-2023 BAFTA Breakthrough USA participant, an alumnus of the 2021 CAAM Fellowship, Armed with a Camera Fellowship by Visual Communication, recipient of the Sundance Uprise Grant and a Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program Grantee.
BETTY HANG - Co-producer
Betty Hang is a LA-based producer working in documentary and narrative films. She serves as Co-Producer on the documentary feature, NEW WAVE which was supported by Sundance Institute. Betty's skills have taken her from working in video games to indie projects like BRUT FORCE and creative producing on Disney's AANHPI Heritage Month. Her accomplishments include serving on their AAPI Content Review Board and she takes pride in organizing events in the SGV, fostering opportunities for advocacy and community empowerment. Betty is driven by her desire to leave audiences and viewers contemplative and questioning society, themselves, and the world we live in.
SAMUEL RONG - Editor
Sam is a classically trained pianist. While he didn’t become a professional musician, a childhood spent sitting and pushing keys prepared him for the edit suite, where he has accumulated over a decade of experience in journalism and film. He has worked in newsrooms and production houses across three continents. His work has shown on Al-Jazeera, CNN, Vice, eNews Africa, and PBS. Sam’s first feature documentary edit was Faceless, about the 2019-2020 Hong Kong protests. Before working on New Wave, he also edited feature docs The Faraway Nearby and Ashima.
CHRISTINA SUN KIM - Editor
Christina Sun Kim is a Los Angeles-based Korean American editor who grew up in the Midwest of the United States and Seoul, South Korea. She has recently worked on Miranda Yousef, ACE’s feature directorial debut: ART FOR EVERYBODY (Official Selection, 2023 SXSW), about artist Thomas Kinkade who hid a world of darkness behind his idyllic, pastoral landscapes.
Nancy Nguyen is a documentary editor based in Los Angeles, California. Her editorial credits include New Wave (Tribeca); In Living Memory, part of the Daytime Emmy-nominated series Asian American Stories of Resilience and Beyond (PBS/WORLD Channel); and, Southeast Asian American Journeys, a docuseries produced by SEARAC (Southeast Asia Resource Action Center) and CAAM (Center for Asian American Media). She recently assisted on Heightened Scrutiny (Sundance) and contributed to a slate of commercial work for PayPal, FX/Hulu, and more.
NANCY NGUYEN - Editor
Nancy Nguyen is a documentary editor based in Los Angeles, California. Her editorial credits include New Wave (Tribeca); In Living Memory, part of the Daytime Emmy-nominated series Asian American Stories of Resilience and Beyond (PBS/WORLD Channel); and, Southeast Asian American Journeys, a docuseries produced by SEARAC (Southeast Asia Resource Action Center) and CAAM (Center for Asian American Media). She recently assisted on Heightened Scrutiny (Sundance) and contributed to a slate of commercial work for PayPal, FX/Hulu, and more.
SIMU LIU - Executive Producer
Best known for starring in Destin Daniel Cretton’s superhero flick Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which saw him make history as the first Asian lead in the MCU, Simu Liu was more recently seen starring opposite Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in Warner Bros. and Greta Gerwig’s record-setting Barbie. Liu broke out with his starring role in the popular CBC/Netflix sitcom Kim’s Convenience. His New York Times Bestselling memoir, We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story, was released by HarperCollins in 2022.
DIANE QUON - Executive Producer
Diane has produced multiple documentaries including: the Oscar and Emmy-nominated, Peabody and Sundance award-winning film, Minding the Gap directed by Bing Liu (POV, Hulu); Oscar short-listed Bad Axe directed by David Siev (SXSW 2022, IFC Films); Emmy-nominated Finding Yingying directed by Jiayan “Jenny” Shi (SXSW 2020, MTVDocs); The Dilemma of Desire with Peabody Award-winning director Maria Finitzo (SXSW 2020, Showtime); Surf Nation (PBS, Mountainfilm Telluride 2022); Breaking the News (Tribeca 2023, Indie Lens) and AKA Mr. Chow (Telluride 2023, HBO). Diane is also developing a fiction feature based on the New York Times best-selling book, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.
GEETA GANDBHIR - Executive Producer
Geeta Gandbhir began her filmmaking career mentored by Spike Lee and Sam Pollard. Her work includes the Emmy-nominated HBO series Black and Missing, which won a 2022 NAACP Award and an Independent Spirit Award. She directed Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power (Emmy-nominated) and Apart (Emmy-winning). Her films include Call Center Blues (Academy Award shortlist), The Asian Americans (Peabody Award), I Am Evidence, and The Sentence. Her films A Perfect Neighbor and The Devil is Busy were Academy Award nominees in 2026.
ROBINA RICCITIELLO - Executive Producer
Robina Riccitiello is communications director for Million Person Project, helping people identify their core values and tell their personal stories. A former journalist, she covered Los Angeles courts, City Hall, and international stories including the European space industry. She serves on the board of One Mind and supports the UCLA Depression Grand Challenge. Her film credits include Soft & Quiet, Frybreadface and Me, Didi, Tendaberry, and Black Box Diaries, an Academy Award nominee in 2025.
C.Y. LEE - Executive Producer
C.Y. Lee is a Seattle-based designer who builds products at the intersection of culture, technology, and finance. His past 30 years of experience at Microsoft, RealNetworks, Amazon, and startups encompasses consumer software experiences in productivity, creativity, games, music, shopping, and sharing.
LINH SONG - Executive Producer
Linh Song has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 20 years, supporting child advocacy, public schools, anti-trafficking within international adoption, and tech startups. Born and raised in the Midwest by Vietnamese refugee parents, she is her family’s firstborn American and committed to addressing social, racial, and economic inequities. She serves on Ann Arbor’s City Council, as co-chair for Michigan Reproductive Rights for All, and as a board member for Jewish Family Services Ann Arbor, Michigan Municipal League Foundation, and the Skillman Foundation. Linh holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
DUG SONG - Executive Producer
Dug Song is a champion for growing community wealth—economic, social, cultural, and environmental—to build a more just and inclusive future for all. He is cofounder of the Michigan Founders Fund, and serves on the boards of the Detroit Regional Chamber, the National Advisory Council for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Wallace House for Journalists, and the advisory board of Venture for America in Detroit Previously, Dug co-founded Duo Security in 2010, leading the company to acquisition by Cisco in 2018.
CREDITS
A Film By
Elizabeth Ai
A Production By
The Post Gen
In Association with
Cinereach
Ford Foundation
Spark Features
Music Nerd
California Humanities
Featuring
Ian “DJ BPM” Nguyen
Lynda Trang Dai
Elizabeth Ai
Written & Directed by
Elizabeth Ai
Produced by
Elizabeth Ai, p.g.a.
Rachel Sine, p.g.a.
Edited by
Hee-Jae Park
Original Score by
Greg Bernall & Chris Upton
Cinematography by
Bryant Swanstrom
Co-Producer
So Yun Um
Betty Hang
Consulting Producer
Hannah Bernall
Executive Producer
Simu Liu
Executive Producer
Diane Quon
Geeta Gandbhir
Executive Producer
Robina Riccitiello
C.Y. Lee
Dug & Linh Song
Co-Executive Producer
Jane Solomon
Editors
Samuel Rong
Nancy Nguyen
Christina Sun Kim
Associate Producer
Mena Dolinh
Archival Producer
Julia Huynh
Post Production Sound / Design
Sung Rok Choi
Color Grading Services
Neptune Post
DI Producer
Persephanie Crosby
Colorist
Robert Crosby
VFX Artist
Misha George
Graphic Services
STUDIO LHOOQ
Graphics Producer
Mỹ Linh Triệu Nguyễn
Music Supervision
Rachel Sine
Elizabeth Ai
Original Songs for NEW WAVE
“Sài Gòn”
Written by Y Vân
Performed by Trace and Ariel Loh
Courtesy of Trace and Ariel Loh
“Ở Đây”
Written/Performed by Trace and Ariel Loh
Courtesy of Trace and Ariel Loh
“Yêu”
Written by Julian Vu
Performed by Jammaster Vu
This film made possible with the generous support of
Cinereach
Ford Foundation
Spark Features
Music Nerd
Sundance | Catalyst
Sundance | National Endowment for the Humanities
Sundance | Adobe | Women to Watch
California Humanities
Blue Skyzz
Firelight Media Doc Lab
Center for Asian American Media | MacArthur Foundation
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Chicago Media Project | Shifting Voices Film Fund
Film Independent
Better Angels Society
Lacuna Giving Circle
Karlin Charitable Foundation
Women in Film | Fellowship
Hot Docs | Deal Maker
The Gotham | Project Market
International Documentary Association | DocuClub
Wyncote
2024-25 AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
