Steve Nguyen

Steve Nguyen (born December 30, 1985) is an American director, writer, artist and music producer. Nguyen and fellow director Choz Belen formed Studio APA, a multimedia collective that specializes in the production of animated films, children's books and music.

Career

Films From 2001 to 2005, Nguyen has made appearances as a young actor on films and network television programs such as Las Vegas, Scrubs, Freaks and Geeks, Are You Afraid of the Dark? and The Man Show. He worked as a production assistant at Universal Pictures on Jarhead and The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift.

In 2009, Nguyen directed and produced a short documentary film titled "The Making of a Memoir" in collaboration with Vietnamese author Lac Su to promote his HarperCollins published memoir, I Love Yous Are For White People. The documentary helped Su gain national exposure and has been featured on CNN, NPR, the Saigon Broadcasting Television Network, and KSCI.

Nguyen directed and produced an animated film, Hibakusha, which chronicles the early life of Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor, Kaz Suyeishi. The film stars Karin Anna Cheung, Connie Lim, Daisuke Suzuki, Jane Lui and William Frederick Knight as the lead voice actors. The film was dedicated to the American Society of Hiroshima-Nagasaki A-Bomb Survivors in an effort to spread awareness for nuclear disarmament and was completed on the 67th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing, August 6, 2012. Nguyen and the Studio APA crew have toured with Hibakusha throughout the United States since October 2012, and the film has been screened at the Japanese American National Museum, Vietnamese International Film Festival, Wing Luke Museum in Seattle, Dragon Con in Atlanta, University of Michigan, UCLA, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, San Diego State University, UC Davis, UC Riverside, DisOrient Film Festival, University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, and California State University, Fullerton. Hibakusha received the Special Achievement Award and Best Animated Short in 2013 at the International Uranium Film Festival held in Rio de Janeiro.

In association with the nuclear disarmament campaign, Global Zero, Nguyen hosted a travel documentary segment titled "Hiroshima Revisited" as a follow-up effort to commemorate the 68th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing.

Illustration and books

In June 2020, Nguyen released his first children's book with Skyhorse Publishing and Simon and Schuster titled To Baby From Daddy, which features his own illustrations and personal composition of paternal love and advice to his baby daughter.

Online media Along with Kevin Hsieh, Nguyen was the co-founder of ChannelAPA.com, a defunct online news source that started in 2008 that posted current news updates and video interviews about Asian Americans in mainstream/independent media. According to KoreAm Magazine and Myx TV, it was featured as one of the top Asian American news sources to follow. In November 2012, Nguyen and Belen launched a multi-media creative collective called Studio APA that serves as both a film production and dedicated YouTube channel.

In 2010, Nguyen directed YouTube singer-songwriter Megan Lee's music video for her first official single, "Love, Laugh, & Live".

On February 4, 2013, Nguyen produced and released a short film with The Jubilee Project and Jeremy Lin titled "The Last Pick," which can be viewed on Lin's personal YouTube channel. In November 2013, it was announced on Allkpop that Nguyen and Korean hip-hop artists, Tiger JK and Yoon Mi-rae, have collaborated on an animated music video for their single, "Turn It Up", which is featured on CHOPS' upcoming album, Strength in Numbers. The full version of the music video was released on January 15, 2014.

On April 18, 2014, Nguyen, Belen, and Queens-based rapper Awkwafina released an animated lyric video for her single, 'Flu Shot', off of her Yellow Ranger debut album.

On September 28, 2015, Nguyen premiered a collaboration project with the global campaign, A World at School, titled, R I S E, at The Town Hall in New York City. In association with Christian hip hop artist Lecrae and the help of Theirworld founder Sarah Brown, the project was created to raise awareness and to pressure governments to act on providing universal education across the globe. Since early 2015, he has served as a Global Ambassador to the nonprofit, Theirworld, to help bring awareness to the cause and share global youth stories through graphic novelization.

Nguyen and Belen collaborated with Los Angeles electro-pop band, Mansions on the Moon, to produce a music video for their upcoming single, "Heart of the Moment". The project was released in October 2015.

In January 2017, Studio APA released the animated visuals for K-pop star Ailee's US debut, "Fall Back", via Vevo in conjunction with Westside Entertainment.

On January 23, 2020, Nguyen released a personal short animated documentary on his Facebook account titled Blast Burn that deals with the miscarriage of his son.

Discography Studio albums Title Album details Singularity Released: February 2, 2022 Label: Studio APA (U.S.) Format: CD, LP, Digital download, streaming

Extended plays Title EP details Bali Released: July 11, 2021 Label: Studio APA (U.S.) Format: Digital download, streaming Inflorescent Released: March 11, 2022 Label: Studio APA (U.S.) Format: Digital download, streaming Space Out Released: December 9, 2022 Label: Tangerina Music (Brazil) Format: Digital download, streaming Senses Released: September 4, 2023 Label: Slowdown Records (Italy) Format: Digital download, streaming Aqua Stellar Released: March 28, 2025 Label: Studio APA / Chill Azure (IUK) Format: Digital download, streaming Loong Way Home Released: April 24, 2026 Label: Studio APA / Chill Azure (IUK) Format: Digital download, streaming

Filmography Film YearTitleCreditsNotesRef 2005 The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift Script coordinator 2005 Noah's Arc Post-production coordinator Assisting Editor 2005 Code Monkeys Writing assistant 2008 The Making of a Memoir Director Producer & Writer 2009 Party Down Production coordinator 2010 Kill Joy (short film) Producer 2010 Dilated (short film) Producer 2012 Hibakusha Director Producer & Writer 2012 Raskal Love Producer 2013 The Last Pick Producer 2013 Hiroshima Revisited Producer Host & Narrator 2014 Dark House Producer 2020 Blast Burn (short film) Director Producer & Writer

Music videos YearTitleArtistDirectorOther Notes 2011 "Diamond Bars" David A. Romero Director of photography 2011 "Love, Laugh & Live" Megan Lee Director of photography 2014 "Turn It Up" CHOPS, Tiger JK and Yoon Mi-rae Co-directed with Choz Belen 2014 Flu Shot Awkwafina Co-directed with Choz Belen 2015 R I S ELecrae Co-directed with Choz Belen 2015 Heart of the MomentMansions on the Moon Co-directed with Choz Belen 2017 Fall BackAilee Co-directed with Choz Belen 2021 Lonely WhaleSteve Nguyen 2021 BaliSteve Nguyen 2022 StellaSteve Nguyen 2023 ShellySteve Nguyen 2024 LovercraftSteve Nguyen, [ocean jams] 2025 TwilightSteve Nguyen

Publications