Ocean Sung is an experimental short film inspired by a transformative journey with my father to our estranged seashore hometown of Binh Thuan, Vietnam. This return—marked by his childhood trauma of abandonment—became a profound moment of reconnection and healing. One afternoon, we found ourselves on a rocky beach, getting knocked over by the crashing waves, laughing and crying in surrender. That moment of being held and undone by the ocean became the emotional and symbolic anchor of this film.

Using the ocean’s impermanence and undulation as a metaphor, the film reflects on time, destiny, and the ripple effects of tragedy, resistance, and migration through generations of my family. It blends personal Super 8mm footage, black-and-white film photography, experimental editing and filming techniques, and immersive soundscapes to evoke the ephemerality of memory and the porous boundaries between past, present, and future.