"The Woman in White" is a 30-minute horror comedy short film about a young Vietnamese American who travels to their motherland to sell their family home only to discover that the ghost of their relative is haunting the house! A limited proficiency of the language makes it hard for the protagonist to literally understand what a ghost is saying and they have an even harder time speaking it back to the ghost so they enlist the help of a tour guide and an exorcist to figure out how to get rid of the ghost. But... there may be another supernatural entity with ill intentions... It's kind of like the skit "Who's On First" where there is a lot of wordplay, dramatic irony, and fun confusion but the language barrier adds to the hilarity. I am Vietnamese American and I am so proud of growing up with two distinct cultures (though I resented it for a while there). This is my second Vietnamese American short film, inspired by a DP friend of mine. He wondered if there are any mainstream Vietnamese American horror films... so I took a ghost story within our family and the idea grew from there. I have recruited 4 other Vietnamese American screenwriter/filmmakers to join the process which is a big first for me! Through my almost 9-year-old production company IronWorx Media, I create opportunities for myself, my flock and beyond. I started the company because I was tired of waiting around for someone to notice me and invest in my work so I save every penny I make from paid filmmaking gigs (produced by others who actually have budgets!) such as acting and crew positions and self-fund my own projects. I produced (and some I directed and wrote as well) over 10 short films and TV pilots. Two films that I wrote, directed, and produced won a total of 27 awards including best narrative film, trailblazing storytelling, best director, best cinematography, best original music, best child actress, best editing, etc. I create because it is a powerful way to connect with others and breed empathy and compassion for one another. For my long-standing internship program, I serve as a guide and mentor. The interns will tell me their goals and hopes and dreams and I do everything I can to help them manifest them. Because I wanted to be the person who I wished was there when I was first studying documentary and narrative filmmaking back in undergrad at UNC-Chapel Hill. In terms of my budget, I am confident that I can produce this with any budget - even 0! -because I have grown a reliable and supportive roster of collaborators who are eager to volunteer. The filmmaking scene in the Triangle Area is growing rapidly - thank God! - and there is so much talent here so when opportunities arise, people flock. People work with me because they have seen the quality of my work but even more so, people WANT to work with me. For example, I was honored to have 80 people volunteer their time, skills, and talent to make a 50-minute sketch comedy special. I have been producing for years and I have realized that you only need to pay for two things to make any production happen on no-low budgets - food and locations. Gear, crew, and cast can all be "free". I am applying to three other grants so hopefully I can get a bigger budget but like I said, if you give me the $1000, I can do so much with the money. Let's elevate Vietnamese representation in cinema!