Oklahoma has become a popular backdrop for Hollywood film directors and producers, but a new movie scheduled for filming in Green Country in October won't have quite the star power others had.
Owasso native Patrick Nguyen, currently attending the University of Notre Dame, is coming home to shoot a documentary about the rebuilding process in Mannford after this summer's wildfires.
Nguyen graduated from Owasso High School. The almost-21-year-old is seeking a double major in film and business.
His documentary on Mannford started out as a class project, but now he has big plans to make his home town proud.
In a Skype interview Friday, Nguyen said it was hard to describe, but there's just something special about growing up as an "Okie."
"I really can't escape," he said. "It's who I am. It's how I was raised."
He said the entire country saw what the people of Mannford were going through during the fires, but he wants to show them the rest of the story.
"That Mannford is strong," he said. "Oklahoma is strong. It's a tight unit."
"This tragedy happened, but people are rebuilding. This community is strong. And they're getting past what's been done to them and bettering their lives for the future."
But Nguyen said the film is more than just a school project for him.
"I'm given this opportunity to make something not only for myself, but maybe help out a community. And so helping someone else close to home means a lot more to me."
And even though he may just be a film student from Owasso, Nguyen has big plans to make the people of Mannford and all of Green Country proud.
"We hope to enter it into some film festivals that will hopefully get us a lot of play from, so we can just get the message out to everybody."
If you're interested in getting involved with Nguyen's film project, you can contact him through email:
pnguyen7@nd.edu.
