Jeff Phungglan’s journey to the film industry began a little differently than most. Born in California and raised in a devout Christian family in Arizona, he attended school for ministry before he decided to become a filmmaker.
Phungglan attended Kairos School of Ministry in Las Vegas. While there, he worked in the school’s media department, helping with school broadcasts and producing content for the internet. This is where his love for filmmaking started to blossom in the open.
“I was very obsessed with pop culture, which is somewhat of a taboo when you grow up in a very strict Evangelical environment,” he said. “I was sneaking my pop culture obsession.”
While at Kairos, Phungglan became engrossed in genre filmmaking. This was around the time when “Heroes” was popular on television, and “Iron Man” was about to take the world by storm. He loved the idea of telling grounded human stories in a larger than life manner. He hopes to be able to do just that with his debut feature film “Mei I.”
“Mei I.” is a sci-fi thriller about a Thai woman whose brother is abducted by a corrupt government. Phungglan first thought of the idea while watching an interview with filmmaker and actor Mark Duplass about the 2014 film “The One I Love.” He remembers that Duplass – who stars in the film as one half of a couple who goes on a bizarre vacation to try and save their marriage – said that while working on the movie, the cast and crew were trying to create their own version of David Bowie’s “Starman.”
“I was like, what a great approach to a story,” Phungglan said. It got him thinking – what’s the story that most resonates with him. There was only one answer: “Casablanca.”
With “Casablanca” in the back of his mind, the story for “Mei I.” slowly started to take shape. More recently, with the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration and the multitude of immigration raids that have been taking place across the country, the idea began to fully crystalize.
Phungglan, who is Thai-American, said stories like the one about Tufts University student Rümeysa Öztürk – who was taken off the street by masked federal agents and then detained for six weeks, likely because of her criticism of the university’s response to the war in Gaza – frighten him.
“As more and more stories [come out] about American citizens being apprehended – my family is all American born or fully naturalized – I can’t help but fear for them in some capacity,” he said.
Before “Mei. I,” Phungglan made a series of short films that he believes feed directly into the themes he wants to explore with his feature: “Bāhn (Home),” a documentary about his family’s personal immigration story; “The Algo,” about a possessed algorithm that drives a man crazy; and “Jelly Bean,” which centers around two Korean American sisters, one of whom joins a cult.
“What’s been really cool for me is to see this threadline of what my voice is and how technology and sci-fi and this thriller genre has prevailed, and how I’m getting to marry that with my Thai heritage in ‘Mei I.,’ he said. “‘Mei I.’ just feels like the culmination of all of those things for me.”
Phungglan launched a Seed & Spark funding campaign for “Mei i.” on June 2. He is funding the film through Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Renaissance Rally, which is a program created in partnership by Seed & Spark and Gold House Futures Network. The rally invites filmmakers to create stories that feature AAPI characters that break the mold.
To qualify for the rally, films must have an AAPI lead who doesn’t know martial arts and who doesn’t have intelligence as their defining characteristic.
“The whole thing is to push back against Asian American stereotypes in film,” Phungglan said.
According to the AAPI Renaissance Rally webpage, the Rally winners will be chosen from a group of finalists and will be eligible to receive membership in the Gold House Futures Network, which is a community of AAPI creatives, entrepreneurs, and leaders; $10,000 in funding along with a spot at the Gold Pitch Event at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF); and mentorship opportunities.
Phungglan said to qualify to be a finalist, “Mei I.” has to hit 80% of its fundraising goal, which is $8,000, and needs to get 350 followers on their Seed & Spark page. The crowdfunding campaign runs through July 2.
Funding for the film will help support things like securing film permits, production design, camera gear and rentals, and compensation for the cast and crew. Phungglan said he hopes the movie will show people not to be complacent.
“I want to give the audience this experience of being in this dystopia, and then walking away from their screen being like – my life doesn’t feel like that, but it’s a lot like that right now,” Phungglan said. “Maybe I should be more concerned.”
