Nailed It. 2017. USA. Directed by Adele Free Pham. English and Vietnamese with English subtitles. 59 min. MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana, Castellano Playhouse 510 S 1st St, San Jose, CA 95113
In any strip mall in the United States, there is bound to be a Vietnamese nail salon. While ubiquitous in cities across the country, few Americans know the history behind the salons and the twenty Vietnamese refugee women who, in 1975, sparked a multibillion dollar industry that supports their community to this day. Weaving powerful stories with insightful interviews, Nailed It captures an unforgettable and often hilarious saga born of tragedy, charting the rise, struggle, stereotypes, and steady hold Vietnamese Americans have on today’s multiethnic $8 billion-dollar nail industry.
Producers: Adele Free Pham, Ina Adele Ray, Kelvin Saint Pham Cinematography: Adele Free Pham Editors: Jessica Lee Salas, Lewis Erskine Cast: Tippi Hedren, Kelvin Saint Pham, Charlie Vo, Olivett Robinson Stories from the Farther Shore: Southeast Asian Film Series is supported by California Humanities through a Humanities for All Project grant. Nailed It is supported by California Humanities through a California Documentary Project grant.