Episode 312: In The Seats With...Ham Tran and Jenni Trang Le and 'Maika: The Girl From Another Galaxy' at Sundance 2022

Family ideals are so universal.On this episode we dive into something we were fortunate enough to see at this years edition of the Sundance Film Festival; 'Maika: The Girl From Another Galaxy' and talk with writer/director Ham Tran and his producer Jenni Trang Le.Ham Tran’s Maika follows 8-year-old Hung, who is still coping with the death of his mother and having difficulty connecting to his father, when his best friend moves away, along with others in his apartment as a greedy landlord conspires to push everyone out so he can sell the place. One night, as Hung retreats to the roof to be alone and watch the night sky he witnesses an errant falling star hitting the ground by a lake near his town. Hung hops on his bike in search of adventure. He arrives at the crash site, and instead of a meteor, discovers an alien girl from the planet Maika, who came in search of her lost friend. As Hung helps Maika find her friend and get back to her home, she inadvertently helps Hung make new friends and mend his broken heart. But danger lurks everywhere, as Hung is not the only one who knows of his new alien friend…We talked with Ham and Jenni about the origins of the story, working with kids, how universal some stories truly are and the importance of playtime and bubble tea in a production budget among other things...