I’m sure you’ve all heard of HBC, Hmong Broadcasting Company, and its goals for the Hmong community. Since becoming a contributing writer for Hmong Empire, I’ve had the chance to really get to know how much the Hmong community works to provide sources for us. I’m thankful for this opportunity that I get to spend time with Hmong celebrities, directors, and producers. But just recently, I got to spend some time talking with Padee Yang, one of HBC’s anchor women. If you don’t know Padee, you’ll find through this article that she’s one of the most successful women and I look at her as a mentor. When I saw her at the Hmong New Year, broadcasting live, I knew that she would have great words to spread to the Hmong community. It was only fair that I got her to talk to me and tell me a bit more about herself, HBC, and share with me her life.

Arriving in America with 9 brothers and 1 sister, Padee Yang was raised by a single mother; her father had passed away in Thailand in one of the refugee camps they were residing in. Although their family size was large, their love for each other was larger.

“Looking back, I think I was not the ordinary Hmong daughter.· I refused to be lost in boredom at home and my curiosity of challenges led me to many endeavors.· I kept my teenage years busy by getting involved with church activities and participated in community services serving the less fortunate.·· I had so many dreams of what I could become, and a desire for education, a good career and the freedom to control my own path. However, I wedded at the age of 17,” Padee says.

Padee proved that marriage doesn’t stop you from reaching your goals. With support from a husband, she went on to receive her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Social Work, while raising three children. “Over time, I realized how important it was for me to chase my dreams and I was determined to make every second count.· I will admit it was a difficult and lonely journey.· Through the endless support from my family I was able to reach my goals,” she says.

Padee comes with a handsome package of accomplishments; she was the Assistant Director for Hmong American Partnership (HAP) in the early 1990’s where she was the spokesperson for the organization. She has been profiled, quoted, and interviewed on Minnesota Public Radio, television shows, and newspapers. She has also helped produced videos for the Hmong community on Planned Parenthood, prenatal care, and Hmong herbs.

Being a director isn’t like it is when we see the Hollywood films where the director sits behind a chair and yells out, “Action” or “Cut.” No, it requires much more than that. I wanted to get an inside look on directing and what are some of the challenges that arise with the job. So I dropped “Opposite Blood’s,” director, Billy Xiong, a visit to see what I might learn about him, his career as a director, and what are some of the duties that comes with directing.

            Born in Laos, raised in the refugee camps of Thailand, Billy Xiong came to the US for a better education and has been residing in Minnesota for the past 25 years. He grew up loving performance arts and to become a director, he started out as an actor. “After I had been acting for a period of time, I found out that directing is my next challenge. I learned that a director sees the whole story from start to finish,” Billy says. When I asked him what the biggest challenge of being a director was, he replied, “Decision is the biggest challenge for me as a director from an indie film production. Due to no major funding for my past or current films, most of what I have comes from my own savings. Every time I made a decision, I felt like walking into a casino with a pocket of cash. Each scene seems like putting money into a slot machine. It’s a risk because our market is very small.”

            Now we know that being a director doesn’t end when the day is done, right? Billy Xiong commented that a regular day for a director is to visualize each scene of the movie from a piece of paper into a complete motion picture. “A director cannot rest his mind until the film is completed. You have to think almost 24/7 to keep the momentums going,” said Billy. But being a director sure has its proud moments, doesn’t it? “To be honest with you, I don’t have one yet, at least not until I finish “Opposite Blood.” As of right now, I just hope that it will come once the film is completed. That will be my proudest moment and it is like a dream come true,” he said.

            A director is the core to the film; he has to be able to hold his team together while keeping everything else that is not in play, out of focus. I asked Billy how he selects his actors and actresses to play the role designed in the script. For Opposite Blood, he said, “Some characters are specifically based on the script I wrote. Others are based on their performance when they come to audition.” It’s almost like the wind that provides for the ship to sail. Without the director to point which way to sail, some journeys become lost.

            Opposite Blood is Billy Xiong’s newest film, which kicked off in 2008. It has been in production for almost three years, only a few scenes are left to be filmed. The projected release date is early next spring. “You will see something slightly different in Opposite Blood. This film will take another turn in Hmong movie making. First, the script was written in English and the story will not just fall under the Hmong culture or the Hmong community, but it’s broaden into a mainstream community,” Billy said. “The project is a martial arts action packed film with a sophisticated twist and turning storyline. Second, I was able to draw our casts and crews from different backgrounds and different nationality.”

I had the privilege of getting to know Seng Yang, director of “The Rose Cloth,” due out late 2011. He gave me an insight into his career, his film, and himself. The first time I saw the trailer, the one who caught my eye was Gideon Xiong, the tall actor dressed in the white tux. His distinctive look and dark eyes had me mesmerized by the mysterious part he played. I began to wonder inside my mind what role he had in this film and who he was, not only as an actor, but as a person. Well ladies and gentleman, I need not wonder no more. Gideon Xiong was kind enough to let me in on his story and as each story goes, his is as unique as it comes.

HOUA: First of all, thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to talk to you. I look forward to your film and can’t wait to see it. It’s an interesting new approach to the world of Hmong film making. Let’s start with introductions, shall we? Tell me about yourself, your background, where you went to school, and how you got into acting?

GIDEON: Sure! Well, I'm a very nice and generous person... I can either be the group comedian or be more serious with a listening ear when someone is troubled. If you see me out in public I'm very approachable with a smile and I never say no to a good conversation! I guess all this had to do with my parents’ impact on me when I was younger, my parents are very well known reverends. As a matter of fact, my father was the first man to translate the Hmong Bible and wrote Sunday school materials for the Hmong, how cool is that eh? I don't think I can be the man that he is because that's not my talent but I'll try to make an impact as he did. I went to Gwinnett Tech for CAD/Drafting and I was hired on as an engineer in designing and fabricating pressure vessels that filter out butane and natural gas. Acting came more of a class clown, Seng had invited me over one day for some picture taking with a right handed Nissan Silvia and little did I know we were going to do a short film instead so from there we just escalated.

H: When you first read the script for the role you took on, what came to your mind?

G: Seng and I actually wrote the script together and when we created this character, the first thing that came to my mind was... Wow?! Whoever's going to be playing this character, Tou Lee, is definitely going to have major personality change for sure. I didn't think I was going to have a role playing as one of the characters, I was expecting more of working behind the scenes with the characters, but when Seng told me to take on the role... I chuckled and laughed thinking it was a joke. Sure enough, I said yes and I just told him I will do my best at it.

When I first saw Seng Yang’s trailer for “The Rose Cloth,” immediately, my mind was racing. I knew that it would be a great film to watch. The thing that caught my attention was the title, “The Rose Cloth,” it was very different and made it hard for me not to finish the clip. When I watched the trailer, it was just fantastic and it got me all pumped up for the movie. So I just had to had catch some time with Director Seng Yang to talk about his film, himself, and the story behind his film.

Houa: First of all, let me say it's an honor to be able to do this interview. I saw your work and the first thing that came to my mind was that I had to do an interview with you because not only did your film catch me at the first opening scene, but you are a very talented director. I'm so excited to see your film. Your trailer, by far, is one of the most well done in our Hmong community yet. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to do this and thank you for your time. Where did the inspiration for this film come from?

I think one of the best things that I’ve gotten to experience is getting to know all the actors and directors in a way that I never thought possible. When I see them onscreen, I can say to my friends and families, “Hey, I know him,” and I don’t just mean by face, I mean by really knowing them. I got that chance again when I interviewed Yengtha Her, actor and creator of Ib Ntsais Muag. Today I’m going to share with you a side of him that you probably might not have known.

Houa: It’s an honor to do this and thank you very much for your time! First of all, let me say that this is one of your best films! I loved it so much! There were times where I was crying, laughing, and just plain in love. You did an excellent job. Let’s start off with some questions of your latest film. How long did it take you to finish the script?

Yengtha Her: It took me 2 months to finish the script.

H: The actress who played Angel, Mai Lee Thao, was so perfectly fit for that part. How did you choose her from out of all the actresses who auditioned for that role?

Y: I choose Mai Lee Thao to play the character Angel because she perfectly matched the character I designed in mind from her body to the shape of her face, her tone of voice. But the most important part was that she was willing to learn how to fight for the fight scenes. Plus she wasn’t afraid of getting hurt.