Adele Pham
My vision for Nailed It changed over the course of production. What I didn’t expect was the effect exploring the history of the Vietnamese salon would have on me. As a mixed race, second generation Vietnamese-American woman, there was always a disconnect from my culture, which I inadvertently found a place within by documenting the definitive history of the Vietnamese nail salon. Although politically it feels like America is more fractured by identity than ever before, it’s also never been so culturally and genetically mixed. This new demographic is hungry for thoughtful, humorous articulation of diverse communities, and where these underrepresented groups intersect. I consider this transcultural space to be the hallmark of my growing body of work—including this documentary about Vietnamese in America via nail salons, and their impact.
