Meet Erica Nguyen | Documentary filmmaker, rock climber, experiential educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Erica Nguyen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erica, how do you think about risk?
Risk feels like an inherent part of accepting the life you are uniquely destined to fill. Getting clouded by fear is natural, especially when you’ve set out on a pathless kind of path, making committing moves to pursue the driving purpose that calls when you listen closely. But for me, that edge between risk & fear has to be dealt with boldly. Especially when rejecting the challenge to grow has its own shrinking consequences.

Of course there are times when you question if you’re wandering off too far with creative impulses, but I’m a believer in process-based learning. Nothing is a waste. And there’s also times to recognize when rest is crucial. Rest itself can seem like a risk we can’t afford when chasing after lofty dreams. But trust always needs to be fed- whether we’re busy pressing forward, holding on tight to our convictions, or letting dormancy reveal the intuition required to step back out onto the unlit road.

Rising to the occasion is a practice that seems to carry in almost every facet of my life. Whether that’s in how I recreate, how I love, or what stories I tell. My first feature documentary took 5 years to complete, and easily another 5 between formulating the idea to knowing what to do with it after it was done. I’m currently 4 years into Phantom Roots, a road memoir about my family’s experiences within the Vietnamese diaspora. Because of the independent nature of my work, these things have their own cadence. I have to pace myself, knowing when to pump the breaks and when we gotta boogie.

To support the kinds of freedom I desire with my filmmaking vision, I have to pivot regularly. Being a traditional rock climbing guide and therapeutic adventure facilitator has simultaneously developed as a result. It’s all good cross training, and meets risk head on. If it wasn’t for testing my relationship to fear in all these other ways, I don’t know how I’d ever pick up a camera and jump on a plane with a silly curiosity to chase down.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My main art form takes the shape of documentary film. I think my ethics place me outside some industry expectations, so I often work alone or in micro teams that align with my values. Much of which was formulated under the guidance of collectives that I admired like DOCUPERU or behavioral health initiatives in New Mexico. I don’t stand by art for art’s sake when it comes to storytelling. By that I mean people are not “content” and there’s a responsibility to approach or treat sensitive subject matter accordingly. The films that emerge are transparent when it comes to how we gain access to them.

When I try to gauge where I’m “at” professionally, the testament of grassroots efforts has been a powerful foundation to now start stretching for the beyond without compromise. I’m heading into some very personal places with this current project, and I would not know where to begin if it wasn’t for witnessing the courage of people in front of my camera. That’s got to be lesson of it all- when we allow for healthy vulnerability, its an invitation for others to unmask, and together we can get somewhere real.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
In my neck of the cactus patch (between Santa Fe and Taos) I tend to take the back roads to my favorite granite domes, or basalt canyons with multi pitch climbs and lightly developed hot springs. Along the way, there’s gems like The Stakeout, Sugar Nymphs, ACEQ, Love Apple or Rancho de Chimayo. People watching can be a little tricky in the desert, where there are fewer places to just run into folks, but the farmers market during chile roasting season is mighty fine.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I gotta thank every teacher who ever tried to scare me out of their curriculum. That’s probably why I thrive under pressure, and can take on large scale dreams today. Equal to those folks, who are many since college days, I shoutout my incredibly determined ancestors who passed down the fire that I tend to daily. My grandmother Xuan sits at the top of this list, and despite having left this bodily plane decades ago, she remains to be quiet the force at my side as I head to Vietnam this spring to orchestrate the most ambitious cinematic feat of my life.

Next to her my creative family has been expanding over the course of residencies and labs I’ve attended in the past couple years. Peers are some of the most insightful and consistent influences. These people have left the biggest imprint, and without lighting each others candles regularly I truly do not know where I’d be right now: Nirav Bhakta, Adewale Olukayode, and Jamie Ross amongst other dear ones.

Website: https://www.phantomrootsvietnam.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phantom.roots.vietnam/