Bao Minh Nguyen (Vietnamese: NguyỠn Minh Bảo), known professionally is Bao Nguyen (Vietnamese: Bảo NguyỠn), is an American film director, cinematographer and producer. He is known for directing the feature documentaries Live from New York! (2015), Be Water (2020), The Greatest Night in Pop (2024), The Stringer (2025) and ' (2026).
Nguyen was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, to Vietnamese parents who arrived in the United States as refugees after the Vietnam War. His parents ran a small fabric store in Maryland, where he often worked during his youth. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics and International Relations from New York University and a Master of Fine Arts in film from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Since 2011, Nguyen has moved to live and work in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
NguyenâÂÂs work often explores themes of identity, culture, and media, tracing how individuals and institutions shape collective memory and social meaning. His films have screened at the Sundance and Tribeca festivals and aired on HBO, NBC, PBS, ESPN, and Netflix.
In 2014, Bao Nguyen worked in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam as a cinematographer and producer for the film 2030 (known in Vietnam as Nðá»Âc), a science fiction romance written and directed by Nguyá» n Võ Nghiêm Minh. The film screened at the Berlin International Film Festival.
NguyenâÂÂs debut feature documentary, Live from New York!, examines the then-40-year history of the television series Saturday Night Live and its cultural impact. The film premiered at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. Critics highlighted the ambitious archival scope of the project.
In 2020, Nguyen directed Be Water, part of the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary series. The film explores the life and legacy of martial-arts legend Bruce Lee and situates that story within the broader context of Asian-American representation in media. It premiered at Sundance and later aired on ESPN/Disney+.
NguyenâÂÂs 2024 feature documentary The Greatest Night in Pop chronicles the record-setting 1985 charity single We Are the World, which brought together dozens of the eraâÂÂs biggest pop stars to record the song for African famine relief. The film premiered at Sundance on January 19, 2024, and was released globally on Netflix. The documentary received several major nominations and awards:
In 2025, Nguyen directed The Stringer, a documentary investigating the authorship of the 1972 Vietnam War photograph popularly known as The Terror of War (âÂÂNapalm GirlâÂÂ). The film follows photographer Gary KnightâÂÂs two-year investigation into whether the credited photographer was correct and explores issues around visual media, identity and conflict journalism. The film premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
In 2026, Nguyen directed BTS: The Return, a documentary following the long-awaited return of South Korean boy band BTS as the seven members gathered in Los Angeles to create new music.
Alongside his work as a director, Bảo Nguyá» n is one of the founding members of EAST FilmsâÂÂa production company established by Vietnamese filmmakers both within the country and abroad, such as Hàm Trần, Phan Gia NháºÂt Linh, Jenni Trang Lê, and Kenneth Nguyen, along with numerous collaborators, with a focus on attracting investment and developing Vietnamese film projects..
Bảo NguyỠn used to date Vietnamese rapper and singer-songwriter Suboi for seven years before proposing her in 2017. They have broken up in 2019.