Upper Darby alum writes and stars in film about single life
“When I began the film project, I had just broken up with a long-term boyfriend and I wanted to use the film as a vehicle to work through my anxieties and doubts in a creative and constructive way.”
— Upper Darby High School alumna Hanh Nguyen
UPPER DARBY » After graduating from Temple University, actress and filmmaker Hanh Nguyen, a 2007 graduate of Upper Darby High School, had her fair share of failed relationships, and emotional ups and downs, living as a single woman in New York City during her younger adult years.
Nguyen, who recently joined the core unit on the current season of NBC’s “This Is Us,” turned those early adulthood days into a film, “Hanh, Solo,” which she wrote and also stars as the main character, along with Anthony MartinezBriggs and Karl Stafford. The
90-minute indie, low-budget comedy film, released in 2017 by the Pennsylvania People for streaming, came out on DVD last week.
“Hanh, Solo” was inspired and imagined based on Nguyen’s life in her early
20s. Stuck dating guys she doesn’t like and working at a dead-end job, Hanh finally finds the courage to pursue her dreams.
“‘Hanh, Solo’ is about an Asian millennial navigating her life while dealing with relationships, career, and where she really fits in this crazy game we call “life,” the filmmaker explained.
Nguyen currently lives in L.A. with boyfriend Jason Taylor, also an Upper Darby native, who co-wrote and directed “Hanh, Solo.” Almost all of the film’s scenes were shot around Philadelphia and its suburbs and many of the talents in the film are also local, including actors and crew members Patrick Hickman of Upper Darby, Don Taylor of Upper Darby, Larry Jansen of Ridley Township, David Dadich of Clifton Heights, and Tristan Seyek of Upper Darby.
Nguyen said that she had a gut feeling from the get-go that viewers would relate to the theme of navigating the complexities of today’s single scene. Almost as soon as the film was released and began showing at film festivals across the country, she said, audience feedback confirmed her hunch.
“The best compliment we’ve gotten about the film has been when audience members tell us that they related to Hanh’s predicament— being at a time in your life where the possibilities seem both endless and nonexistent all at once,” Nguyen said. “Even if you’ve found the path that’s right for you, there’s still that mix of uncertainty and awkwardness present.”
Nguyen immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam with her mother when she was seven-years-old, going to live with her father in Drexel Hill. She attended Aronimink Elementary School, Drexel Hill Middle School and Upper Darby High School, before heading to Temple where she majored in Psychology and Theater. After college, she moved to Manhattan for four years to pursue an acting career.
“When I began the film project, I had just broken up with a long-term boyfriend and I wanted to use the film as a vehicle to work through my anxieties and doubts in a creative and constructive way,” she shared.
Since those early days, Nguyen has at least 25 acting credits on her IMBd resume, most of them from appearances in short films and TV series. Her most recent project was as a principal talent on Episode 6 of “The New York Post Reports” on Hulu. The actress is also involved in Pennsylvania People, the production company that produced “Hanh, Solo.” It’s comprised of actors, writers, and directors that are all from the Philly area and have been creating movies locally for the past decade.
“While it’s always a joy to be a part of helping someone else fulfill their vision, this is my first full length feature that I’ve created for myself and had the most personal creative investment in,” Nguyen said. “The story offers a deeply personal insight into my life. Everyone who helped make this film possible is someone Jason or I met through local acting classes, local film productions, friends of friends, or were people we’d known for years. That’s what makes this film special ... it was made as a labor of love.”
“Hanh, Solo” is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime and Vimeo. The DVD was released earlier this month.
For more information on Nguyen or the Pennsylvania People and their projects, follow @hollywoodhanh and @pennsylvaniapeopleproduction on Instagram.