As an immigrant and refugee the last thing on your mind would likely be anything creative and playful. For Chinese-Vietnamese immigrants Paul and Millie Cao, this was their story until a few years ago. The documentary short Walk Run Cha Cha explores their story of fleeing Vietnam and how they are reinventing themselves now through ballroom dance.

In this episode, I spoke with Laura Nix, the Oscar-nominated director of Walk Run Cha Cha about her process in creating the film and the themes she explored around dance, immigration and reinvention in middle-age. 

We talked about how creating the film changed Laura as a person and filmmaker, the motivation behind a creative pursuit, why the freedom to be playful and creative is not a given for everyone and the reality of a career in the arts. I also talked about how Paul and Mille's story relates to my parents' story of being immigrants and refugees.

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