Overseas students’ series on life in US stirs Internet Uyen (R) and Sol, two main characters, are seen on a scene of the series of short films We@US featuring the lives of Vietnamese students studying in America by Jorkendy Lai Production. A series of short films featuring the lives of Vietnamese students studying in America has recently caused a stir and received positive responses from the overseas student community as well as local netizens. Uyen and Sol, two main characters, are seen on a scene of the series of short films We@US featuring the lives of Vietnamese students studying in America by Jorkendy Lai Production. Titled “We@US” the series, produced by Jorkendy Lai Production (JLP), a group of 20 Vietnamese overseas students and Vietnamese – Americans, tells the story of a young woman named Uyen and how she adapts to the life of a student studying abroad. “I came up with the idea of making a movie on overseas students’ life in 2010, when I had a year of studying in America. I want people in Vietnam to known how our life here in America is,” Lai Duc Thang, a founder of JLP who is studying at the University of Texas in Arlington, told with Tuoitrenews. “I think only students studying abroad can make a film on their life in the most vivid way. We@US was also born with the hope to make an entertaining movie for overseas students and the Vietnamese community in the US,” he added. Jorkendy Lai Production's members By courtesy of JLP With a teenage-friendly, funny and realistic plot on the youths’ friendship, love and passion, together with beautiful scenery, sweet background music and a good-looking cast, We@US has become popular among many netizens. First posted on Youtube late last year, the series, which four episodes so far, has received around 200,000 views per episode. According to Thang, each episode features a specific topic like “Heaven,” “My first…” or “Me? Famous?” and takes him and the filmmaking crew several months to finish. The first episode took six months since the filmmakers had to spend a lot of time writing the screenplay, casting, making animation for the introduction, writing music, filming and dubbing. “I will combine the American and Asian filmmaking styles with my own ideas to bring out a unique series of mine,” the 25-year-old filmmaker said. After each episode is broadcast, Thang and his JLP crew receive mixed opinion. Besides the numerous fans who have complimented the series, there are other viewers who are not very satisfied with the movie, saying they want the cast to act more naturally. On his Facebook page Thang said that people’s support and thoughts are his encouragement. His team is still working on the series, which will consist of several seasons with around 10 episodes in each cycle. DONG NGUYEN, TUOITRE