The House on the Cliff Wins Honorable Mention for "Best Mystery Short" from IndieX Film Festival

Happy Sunday news! I barely had time to make coffee this morning when I got an email from FilmFreeway that The House on the Cliff has won another award … Honorable Mention for BEST MYSTERY SHORT from IndieX Film Fest! Yay! Thank you IndieX! We are humble and grateful for the recognition and honored to be among the list of winners in this month’s festival!

The House on the Cliff Wins "Best Horror & Best Sci-Fi" from Los Angeles Motion Picture Festival

Within less than 2 months on the film festival circuit, The House on the Cliff has received several nominations and has won a few awards under its belt. We are so thrilled that our microfilm is entertaining people as it’s slowly making its way through the film fests. Today (August 16), we just got the good news that The House on the Cliff has won BEST HORROR SHORT and BEST SCI-FI SHORT from the Los Angeles Motion Picture Festival! A huge thank you to LAMP for letting our short film be a part of your line-up this summer. We are honored!

The House on the Cliff Wins Honorable Mention for “Best Mystery Short” from Indie Film Fest

Great news to share with everyone! Our short film The House on the Cliff is an award-winning film today: Honorable Mention for “Best Mystery Short” from Indie Film Fest. We are all so excited! Thank you so much Indie Film Fest!

Wish I had taken more production photos during filming, but there was not much time. We were in a crunch to finish within a 2-3 day window. Something to remember for future productions – make time for on-the-set photography. 🙂

The House on the Cliff, an official selection of SENE Film Fest & Indie Short Fest

Our latest short film The House on the Cliff, which was filmed on location in Colorado earlier this summer, is an official selection at both SENE Film Festival (October 2022) and Indie Short Fest (this month)!

SENE Film Festival will screen The House on the Cliff in person as part of their short program. I can’t believe our little movie will be screened in front of a live audience. It’s beyond my dreams and goals for this short. Today was a great day!

In case you have not seen it yet, here’s The House on the Cliff, a 5-minute film. Enjoy!

A Quiet Place of One's Own

After a long hiatus, I finally had some time to edit some footage from a recent trip to Annapolis, Maryland. It was just me and my camera exploring this beautiful, historic town on foot. A lovely day of quietly documenting life in the pandemic era. Yes, we are still in the midst of it, but we are all coping our best. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the summer!

Farewell Fujifilm X-E1

For about a year now, I’ve been on the hunt for a compact Fujifilm camera. I’ve been eyeing both the X100V (to replace the one I gifted to my nephew) and the X-E4 as my everyday & travel camera. The X100V has been hard to find online or in stores due to perhaps Japan’s chip shortage? I decided to rent the X-E4 and the Fujifilm XF 27mm f/2.8 R WR pancake lens instead to try out. Together they somewhat resemble my X100V (which I love so much). But after playing with this combo for a few days, I realized it is not quite what I was hoping for. The reason why will surprise you!

Thank you for the lovely time we spent together, X-E1!

Recipe: Ground Pork in Tomato Sauce (Heo Sốt Cà Chua)

This is one of my childhood's favorite dishes. I was so happy to find the recipe. It's the Vietnamese version of spaghetti ... to be enjoyed on a bed of rice and shredded lettuce. :)

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 small head of soft leaf lettuce, fine shredded

  • 4 scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths (or more if you like scallions like me)

  • 1/2 cup shredded mint leaves

  • 1 cup whole coriander leaves

  • 2 table spoons vegetable oil

  • 1 pound ground pork (or ground turkey)

  • 1 table spoon sugar

  • 3 tablespoons nước mắm (Vietnamese fish sauce)

  • 6 garlic cloves, chopped

  • 1 large onion, slivered

  • 3 large ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded & diced

  • 1 cup chicken broth or water

  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste

  • Freshly ground black pepper

  • Nước Chắm

DIRECTIONS

Combine shredded lettuce, scallions, mint, and coriander in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

Prepare the "Nước Chắm" (recipe below). Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a skillet over high heat. Add ground pork (or ground turkey) and fry, breaking up the lumps, for 8 minutes. Add sugar and 1 tablespoon of the fish sauce and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the meat to a bowl and set it aside.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in skillet. Add garlic and onion and fry until fragrant. Add tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat.

Return pork to the skillet, along with the broth, tomato paste, and remaining 2 tablespoons fish sauce. Simmer, stir occasionally, for 15 minutes. Transfer mixture to a serving bowl, sprinkle with black pepper.

Serve over a bed of rice and shredded lettuce with Nước Chắm.

Nước Chắm Recipe

  • 2 small garlic cloves, crushed

  • 1 small fresh red chili pepper, minced

  • 2 tablespoons sugar

  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime

  • 1/4 cup rice vinegar

  • 1/4 cup of nước mắm (Vietnamese fish sauce)

  • 1/4 cup of hot water

Combine garlic, chili pepper, and sugar in a mortar. Pound with a pestle to a fine paste. Add lime juice, vinegar, fish sauce, and 1/4 cup of water. Stir to blend.

Fujifilm X-E1, an Oldie but a Goodie

My "new" camera came from mpb.com a few weeks ago! I filmed an unboxing video for fun. The X-E1 is 10-year-old this year! One of the only 3 cameras that have the first generation of the Fujifilm X-Trans sensor. Special indeed. I've taken a few photos with the X-E1 (mostly indoor since I've been self-quarantining this month) ... and, not surprisingly, it takes beautiful photographs! Can't wait to take it outside for photo walks soon.

About Self-Care for Introverts

I can’t remember when I started realizing that I’m an introvert. But it’s not too long ago for sure. As an introvert, I’m not very good at practicing “self-care” though, so to help myself be better at it, I made this little film. Hope it helps you too. 🙂

If You're an Introvert, This Is For You ...

Ever since the Christmas Holidays, I've been craving solitude and cozy home time. The combination of the wintry weather outside and me being a bit under the weather have contributed to this state of mind ... I guess. I love being home. Home means straight-up hygge time for me. Luckily, I can work remotely from anywhere ... something I am extremely grateful for. It's only January but we've already had a few big bad snowstorms here in the Northeast. From the comfort of home, I made a vlog about being an introvert. It's quite therapeutic for an introvert to create a vlog about introverts.

My 4-Year Journey as a YouTuber

Blink and it's been 4 years since I uploaded my first vlog on YouTube. Being a filmmaker, photographer, and introvert, it has been a huge challenge for me having to be in front of the camera. Thought I'd share a few things I've learned along the way as a YouTuber ... a shy one at that.

Also, 2022 is here and it's time to reexamine my goals as a filmmaker this year. I hope to make a few short films and documentaries, in addition to keeping up with the YT channel. OK ... to be specific and realistic ... I hope to make at least 2 short films and a documentary. Let's see where things will be in 12 months? :)

Will keep you posted!