Synopsis
A real-time portrait of 2020 unfolds as an Asian-American family in Trump’s rural America fights to keep their restaurant and American dream alive in the face of a pandemic, Neo-Nazis, and generational scars from the Killing Fields.
BAD AXE
Press
“The most essential film about this era.”
RogerEbert.com
“Potent and personal”
The Hollywood Reporter
“Among the finest and the most important films of the year”.
San Francisco Chronicle
“A penetrating assessment of american society”
Los Angeles Times
“Heartfelt and intimate”
POV Magazine
Festivals
SXSW Film Festival, USA, Audience Award for Documentary Feature and Special Jury Recognition for Exceptional Intimacy in Storytelling – 2022
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, USA, Grand Jury Prize for Documentary Feature – 2022
Traverse City Film Festival, USA, Audience Award – 2022
San Francisco Film Critics Circle, USA, Nominated for Best Documentary – 2023
Director's Biography
Midwest-born and raised, David Siev is a first-generation Cambodian-Mexican-American filmmaker. Before directing Bad Axe, his SXSW award-winning feature debut based on his family’s restaurant in rural Michigan, David spent his early career learning guerilla filmmaking under director Jeff Tremaine. This experience prepared David to make his directorial debut with his award-winning narrative short, Year Zero, based on his father’s experience of escaping Cambodia. David’s work on Bad Axe has been celebrated with numerous accolades, including the Social Justice Award at the 2022 Critic’s Choice Celebration of Asian Pacific Cinema. David now lives in NYC, focusing on developing narrative and documentary projects.