What's at stake?
Fresno’s 35,000 Hmong residents—nearly 5% of the city’s population—have a vibrant community. Yet, finding on-screen representation of the Hmong community, in Fresno or elsewhere, is a tough task. “Bitterroot,” an exclusively Hmong casted and produced film, hopes to help change that.
Fresno’s 35,000 Hmong residents—nearly 5% of the city’s population—have a vibrant community. Yet, finding on-screen representation of the Hmong community, in Fresno or elsewhere, is a tough task. “Bitterroot,” an exclusively Hmong casted and produced film, hopes to help change that.
“Bitterroot” is an award-winning film which follows Lue, a recently divorced man, as he navigates his relationships with his mother and his cultural background. The film, which premiered in 2024 at the Tribeca Film Festival, will have its first-ever Central Valley screening at Sierra Vista Cinema 16 theater in Clovis on Thursday, Dec. 26.
From the film’s earliest days, Director Vera Brunner-Sung and the Bitterroot creative team aimed to keep the film as authentic as possible. YEEJ (pronounced “yang”), a native of the film’s setting of Missoula, Montana, described the process of including the Missoula Hmong community in the process of creating the film.
“We did a workshop with [the Missoula Hmong community], explained to them what the film was going to be about, and gave them major plot points,” said YEEJ. “The Missoula Hmong community were actually the ones who helped alter the story to what it is now and what we see on screen.”
Though the Hmong community of Missoula had the largest impact on the film, Fresno played a pivotal role in connecting one of the film’s producers, YEEJ, to his Hmong roots.
“Growing up, my family always took me to the Fresno Hmong New Years,” said YEEJ. “It’s almost this home away from home. It’s like a vacation spot my family always went to.”
Fresno, home to one of the biggest Hmong communities in the United States, has held the largest Hmong New Year celebration in the country for more than 40 years. Though Hmong New Year and other traditional celebrations carry warm memories for YEEJ, actress Qu Kue, who plays Lue’s mother in the film, said that many younger generations of Hmong are forgetting their roots. “Our children live in a modern world, and they have to live in that world in order to thrive,” said Kue. “And, for us, that is very difficult to accept.”
“Bitterroot” serves as a bridge between generations—both for audiences experiencing the film, and for the actors playing the roles. “It’s interesting that [the script]… follows [most of the actors’] lives, because I’m also a single mom,” said Kue. “I also have a son who grew up here who also has his differences with me.”
The film also sheds light on aspects of Hmong culture that go unseen.
According to Kue, as a widow or divorcee, “…You pretty much don’t have a lot of respect in the Hmong community.” One of the most rewarding parts of filming, said Kue, was realizing how strong women had to be to remain independent and avoid getting remarried—often to other family members of their husband or even ex-husband.
Aside from social dynamics, though, the movie also highlights Hmong language. With lines in both English and Hmong, the film has English subtitles so audiences can understand the dialogue better. According to Kue, the film’s director Brunner-Sung does not speak Hmong, so an interpreter was hired to help translate parts of the script.
The language work did not stop in the writing phase, though. “[Brunner-Sung] was very open to us being able to modify the messages that were given,” said Kue. “I ended up changing a lot of the script to fit my motherly role.”
Behind the scenes, the team of “Bitterroot” focused heavily on mentoring young and upcoming Hmong filmmakers and crew members. “We really try to make opportunities and space for upcoming Hmong filmmakers to get a chance to work on a feature length paid film that also has a higher budget than an independent small film,” said Producer Kazua Melissa Vang. “We really wanted to build on people’s craft.”
Though the film team is proud of having created a film made by a Hmong community which showcases Hmong actors on-screen, Vang hopes that as many people as possible choose to see the film, whether they have Hmong ties or not.
“We would love for Bitterroot to reach beyond the audience of Hmong and to really connect with anyone who has a story about a relationship with their mother,” said Vang.
The film screening at Sierra Vista Cinema 16 will open at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 26, with the screening beginning at 5:30 p.m.. Following the screening, producer YEEJ will be available for a Q&A session with audience members. Tickets are available for purchase online.
Know Before You Go:
- “Bitterroot”, an award-winning feature-length film following a recent divorcee’s relationship with his mother and his Hmong cultural background, will have its first-ever Central Valley screening at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 26. at Sierra Vista Cinema 16 theater in Clovis, 1300 Shaw Ave.
- The film was completely created by Hmong artists and creatives, and includes extensive input from members of the Missoula, Montana Hmong community.
- Fresno has the second biggest Hmong community in the United States, with around 35,000 Hmong residents making up nearly 5% of the city’s population.
