Tony Bui is a Vietnamese

Vietnamese people

The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...

 independent film director

Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

 in the U.S., most famous for his 1999 film Three Seasons

Three Seasons

Three Seasons is an American Vietnamese language movie filmed in Vietnam about the past, present, and future of Ho Chi Minh City in the early days of New Vietnam. It is a poetic film that tries to paint a picture of the urban culture undergoing westernization. The movie takes place in Ho Chi...

, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival

Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...

 and became the only film ever to win both the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize there. The film was based on Bui's own experiences dealing with the changing landscape and people of his ancestral home of Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

. The film starred Harvey Keitel

Harvey Keitel

Harvey Keitel is an American actor. Some of his most notable starring roles were in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, Ridley Scott's The Duellists and Thelma and Louise, Ettore Scola's That Night in Varennes, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Jane Campion's The...

.

Early life

Bui was born in Vietnam and in 1975 came to the U.S. at the age of two years with his family, as a refugee of the U.S.-Vietnamese war, leaving Vietnam approximately one week before the Fall of Saigon

Fall of Saigon

The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975...

. He was raised in Sunnyvale, California

Sunnyvale, California

Sunnyvale is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is one of the major cities that make up the Silicon Valley located in the San Francisco Bay Area...

. His father ran a video store which led to his interest in cinema. He studied film at Loyola Marymount University

Loyola Marymount University

Loyola Marymount University is a comprehensive co-educational private Roman Catholic university in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions located in Los Angeles, California, United States...

 in Los Angeles.

Career

Bui visited Vietnam several times before making first short film, the highly successful Yellow Lotus, which also debuted at the Sundance Film Festival

Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...

 and went on to play at festivals around the world.

He has also produced Green Dragon, starring Patrick Swayze

Patrick Swayze

Patrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best known for his tough-guy roles, as romantic leading men in the hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest...

 and Forest Whitaker

Forest Whitaker

Forest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television...

, for his older brother Timothy Linh Bui

Timothy Linh Bui

Timothy Linh Bui is a Vietnamese-born American filmmaker, film producer, and screenwriter. He directed Green Dragon, and co-wrote and produced Three Seasons.-Early life:...

, as well as writing several screenplays for production companies. He is believed to be developing another feature film project. For a brief time he was associated with Lazarus, a film in development at Warner Brothers.

Personal life

Bui is the brother of Timothy Linh Bui

Timothy Linh Bui

Timothy Linh Bui is a Vietnamese-born American filmmaker, film producer, and screenwriter. He directed Green Dragon, and co-wrote and produced Three Seasons.-Early life:...

, a film director and producer. The two have worked together on several films. He is also the nephew of the Vietnamese actor Đơn Dương

Don Duong

Đơn Dương is a film actor originally from Vietnam, who now lives and works in the United States.-Life & career:...

.

Filmography

Year	Film	Credited as
		Director Film director A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...	Producer Film producer A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...	Writer Screenwriter Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...	Actor Actor An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
1995	Yellow Lotus
1999	Three Seasons Three Seasons Three Seasons is an American Vietnamese language movie filmed in Vietnam about the past, present, and future of Ho Chi Minh City in the early days of New Vietnam. It is a poetic film that tries to paint a picture of the urban culture undergoing westernization. The movie takes place in Ho Chi...
2001	Green Dragon Green Dragon (film) Green Dragon is a 2001 American film directed by Timothy Linh Bui and starring Patrick Swayze, Forest Whitaker and Duong Don.-Plot:The film follows the experience of Vietnamese refugees in the United States immediately following the Fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War. Tai Tran has been...
2005	My Name Is...

Awards and nominations

Austin Film Festival

Austin Film Festival

The Austin Film Festival was started in 1994 in Austin, Texas and is claimed to be "the first organization of its kind to focus on the writer’s unique creative contribution to the film and television industries"...

• 2001: Won, "Best Advanced Screening" - Green Dragon

Berlin International Film Festival

Berlin International Film Festival

The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...

• 1999: Nominated, "Golden Berlin Bear Award" - Three Seasons

Humanitas Prize

Humanitas Prize

The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing intended to promote human dignity, meaning, and freedom. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser — also the founder of Paulist Productions — but is generally not seen as specifically directed toward religious...

• 2001: Won, "Best Film" - Green Dragon

Independent Spirit Award

• 2000: Nominated, "Best First Feature (Over $500,000)" - Three Seasons

Portland International Film Festival

• 1999: Won, "Best First Film" - Three Seasons

Stockholm International Film Festival

Stockholm International Film Festival

The Stockholm International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Stockholm, Sweden. It was launched in 1990 and has been held every year in the second half of November...

• 1999: Nominated, "Best Film" - Three Seasons

Sundance Film Festival

Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...

• 1999: Won, "Audience Award for Best Dramatic Film" - Three Seasons
• 1999: Won, " Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Film" - Three Seasons

External links