“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.”
On 22 November at the Courthouse Hotel Screening Room we celebrated the birthday of Bruce Lee & experienced Be Water, the ESPN “30-for-30” documentary by Bao Nguyen. After the film, we enjoyed a post screening Q&A with Bao Nguyen which was moderated by Georgie Yukiko Donovan.
You can see highlights from our screening here.
Bao Nguyen is an Emmy-nominated Vietnamese American filmmaker based in Los Angeles and Saigon, Vietnam. He has directed, produced, and shot a number of short and feature films, which have played internationally in numerous festivals and museums including MoMA and the Smithsonian.
His feature documentary, BE WATER, a deep dive into the life and journey of Bruce Lee, competed in the U.S. Documentary Competition category at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was invited to other prestigious festivals such as SXSW, Cannes,Telluride, Hot Docs, among many others. It broadcast nationally on ESPN and is the most watched ESPN 30 for 30 film ever.
Georgie Yukiko Donovan is a Japanese-British documentary filmmaker with a flare for telling human stories, captured with sweeping cinematics and intimate portraits. Passionate about bridging intersections and re-centering marginalised voices into their own stories, especially within the East Asian community.
Georgie has produced and directed a body of work spanning documentary series, films and podcasts for outlets such as Netflix, BBC, Channel News Asia, Hulu and more. Her award-winning work has screened at over 30 film festivals worldwide.
