Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film

Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film


129: Breaking Rules with Victor Kossakovsky, Kirsten Johnson & Garrett Bradley

February 11, 2021

Filmmaker Bao Nguyen profiles Bruce Lee, searching for the man behind the icon, in the ESPN documentary “Be Water.” Bao’s other films include his history of Saturday Night Live “Live from New York” and a short film about his Vietnamese-American family “Where Are You Really From?” In this interview with Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers, Bao describes his intent to place Lee’s story in the context of being Asian-American. Bao invokes the poet Ocean Vuong in reflecting on the expectations placed on Asian-American storytellers.