‘The Harvest’ stars Twin Cities native

The challenges of resolving generational conflicts are featured in the film “The Harvest,” which was released June 20 on Amazon and YouTube and is available on Apple TV.
Doua Moua, who grew up in St. Paul, is the writer, star and a producer of the narrative.
The film focuses on Thai, a writer who returns home to visit his ailing father, mother and younger sister. The father’s belief in Hmong traditional culture clashes with his son’s pursuit of his own dreams and lifestyle.
Moua, who was born in a Thailand refugee camp and moved with his parents to St. Paul at the age of six months, reflects much of his own experience in the story of “The Harvest.”
He began singing in choirs as a child and participated in school and community plays as he grew older. He graduated from the International School of Minnesota in Eden Prairie.
He moved to New York City and studied communications and psychology, but he never forgot his dream of being a performer. Moua moved to Los Angeles, appeared in some Indy films and got his big break when he was cast as Spider in the Clint Eastwood movie, “Gran Torino” in 2008.
He played the cousin of one of the main actors and was cast as a Hmong gang member.
Moua said the older Hmong generation knew of Eastwood from his westerns. “Most of them learned to speak English from watching his films,” he noted.
He recalls “Gran Torino” as a film about aging, with Eastwood’s character resolute to change yet living through a time when everything around him was changing – his neighborhood and life styles. “The only thing that didn’t change was the Gran Torino,” Moua said.
It was after he finished this film that he first began writing the script for “The Harvest.”
“There was kind of a sense that when would I be able to act in another film? Asians were not seen so much in movies at this time. It sparked a conversation with myself about what I could tell about my culture, and I dug deep.
“At the same time, my father became ill with kidney disease. I was in New York City, pursuing my dream of being an actor, and I was going back home because of my duty as a Hmong son. I was digging deep into my emotions.”
“The Harvest” is the first feature that Moua has written on his journey as a writer. “Living in a new culture makes the challenges harder,” he said. “At a younger age it was harder to understand what my parents were going through and why they put pressure on me.”
He said he hoped to show onscreen how families can have those conversations, understand each other and move forward.
The film offers strong character development, and that is a result of both the writing and the direction, according to Moua.
“It was great having a female director. She saw aspects that I didn’t see.”
Moua said being a producer, writer and actor on the film was not as hard as it sounds. “As the writer, I had to let the story go and let the director direct it,” he noted. “As an actor, I just relied on going back to acting. The difficult part of being a producer is that the crew can forget you are the producer.”
Moua spent many years getting this film from script to production. “I wrote the first draft in a couple of months just to lay it down. I would always go back and rewrite it over the years, and go in and dissect it, find out what wasn’t working and build a dynamic of each character.”

Director caylee so relates to family
He said he and his producing partner, John Houselog, went through a list of directors and reached out to Caylee So to direct the film. She had co-directed “In the Life of Music” that was Cambodia’s selection for the 2018 Academy Awards.
So was born in a refugee camp after her parents fled the Khmer Rouge. Her family moved to Virginia, and right after high school So joined the National Guard. “Then 911 happened, and it became a different story,” she recalled. She spent half of her National Guard service on active duty and did two tours in Iraq. “When I was in Iraq, I watched the movie ‘Million Dollar Baby,’ and for two hours I forgot I was in war time.”
She said she thought “Who gets to do that, transport someone through a movie?” So said that she looked up what a film director does, and when she came home she switched her major from business to creative writing. She then earned an MFA in film production.
“Doua reached out to me and said he had a Southeast Asian story, and they were looking for a Southeast Asian director. When I read the script, I felt like I could relate to the family he had written about. We had conversations, and I became the director.”
She said it was very important to her that each member of the family had an arc of their own, a voice of their own.”My community understands a lot about the themes of arranged marriage and identity crises,” she said. “It is very universally relatable to step into that narrative and support it.”
So said she is definitely happy that she changed her career path to film. “My soul is happier, in the words of the Artist,” she said. The filming of “The Harvest” took 21 days.
She is currently developing a football drama and also working on a historical horror film. So said she hopes there will be a lot more Hmong filmmakers, writers, actors and people behind the cameras. “There are a lot of untold stories out there, and I hope to see more being told.”

First role for Chrisna Chhor
For actress Chrisna Chhor, playing the role of Sue, the daughter in “The Harvest” is her first acting role.
“I am similar to my character, as I am the youngest in an immigrant family. My parents were born in Cambodia and came here. I feel like I can really resonate with my character,” Chhor said.
She said that like Sue, she sometimes felt she did not have a voice herself, as a daughter should be passive and agreeable.
Chhor was born in California. She said being in the film was a fun way for her to find a good balance for herself, which can be difficult. “I sometimes struggle with my relatives because of the language barrier, as well,” Chhor said.
She said she has always been drawn to artistic and creative things. “I never knew about acting until my junior year in high school,” Chhor explained. “I never took it so seriously, because my parents were trying to look out for me. They thought acting is good as a hobby, but I would have to pursue another career.”
Chhor said her uncle knew the director of “The Harvest” and pushed her to audition for the role of Sue.
“I never had an acting coach. I took some theater classes in college. I am so grateful they took a chance on me,” Chhor said.
She said everyone on the set of “The Harvest” was super kind with good energy. “I was so excited to show up on the set, even if it was 3 a.m. It was so cool.”
Chhor said she considers “The Harvest” to be a very impactful film. “It’s like with a family. You don’t know what everyone is going through. You have to break down those barriers and come up with a resolution to try and confront whatever it is to find a way to not only live in a house, but make it a home. I am really glad this story took on so many different depths of what people can deal with.”

‘Last Exit’ coming next
Moua is currently writing a script called “Last Exit,” a tribute to his mother and aunt. “It’s about an aging group of friends and a road trip down Memory Lane,” he said.
Moua said films about Southeast Asians have always been overlooked, and his goal is to get more of them open to public view.
“I hope ‘The Harvest’ will resonate with friends and family. The most important thing is that we have a story to tell. We are part of the American tapestry. I hope this film will bring people together for even a moment in time.”