Hmollywood Movies: 1.5-Generation Hmong Americans and Transnational Film Production in Thailand

Hundreds of low-budget Hmong language films—comedies, action films, horror films, historical fiction movies, documentaries and others—have been produced for Hmong American audiences since the 1990s. Most of them have been made by 1.5-generation Hmong American men in Thailand, in collaboration with Hmong Thais who work for Hmong American producers as actors and in various other capacities. Khek Noi sub-district, Phetchabun Province—the most populous Hmong community in Thailand—is the centre of Hmong film-making because of political history, landscape, language, the skills that Hmong at Khek Noi have developed, and because Khek Noi has become a recognizable place for Hmong American film-makers. Indeed, Khek Noi can appropriately be referred to as 'Hmollywood', even though there have been tensions between Hmong American film-makers and Hmong Thai who have worked for them. The American market for Hmong films is, however, facing serious challenges, leading Hmong American film-makers to look for new directions in producing and marketing films. This article engages with the literature on transnational cinema, arguing not only that there are transnational and globalized influences on the Hmong film-making industry, but also crucial place-based ones.