HOME IS A PRACTICE
A love letter across generations exploring how art and presence build belonging.
Home Is a Practice is a personal documentary framed as a letter to the filmmaker’s unborn daughter, exploring what it means to belong across place, culture, and lineage. Drawing from a Buddhist upbringing shaped by Vietnamese refugee parents, life in Hawai‘i, and a return to the American South, the film reflects on how mindfulness and creative expression become a refuge in times of change and division.
Interwoven with the filmmaker’s own narration are conversations with an artist and meditation teachers who have shaped her path: Marcus Amaker, Vinny Ferraro, and Tara Brach. Together, their voices explore how art and presence can help us feel at home within ourselves and with one another. Home Is a Practice invites viewers to consider home not as a place, but as something we learn to cultivate—moment by moment.
Directed, Produced, & Edited by Kim Lange
Featuring Marcus Amaker, Vinny Ferraro, and Tara Brach
Cinematography by Phoebe Crouse, Kim Lange, Dana K. Davis, and Thuc Phan (Goat Media LLC)
Music by Marcus Amaker, Luba Hilman, Joseph Beg, and Chill Cole
Additional Works
Brendan James | PEACEMAKER
"[This song] is inspired by The Great Peacemaker of Iroquois legend, who with the help of Hiawatha famously brought the five Iroquois Nations together into one. He sang a song of peace, he spoke of a law of peace. He performed great and daring acts to prove his pure intentions to the skeptical… I was so taken by his efforts that I wanted to write a song about them, in the form of a letter written directly to him… the one known as Deganawida or Tekanawí:ta (in special circumstances). I hope that it inspires others to talk about peace, to fight for peace… to approach peer and stranger alike with calm and understanding… to look for the peacemakers in their own communities, and to support them and shed light on their efforts. These are such ugly and unpredictable times in this country and there is no immediate answer or solution. But I have always liked to think that huge battles are won in tiny interactions between people who care enough to listen." -Brendan James
Quentin Baxter
Grammy-winning drummer, composer, producer, and educator Quentin Baxter reflects on his Lowcountry roots for his first Soundbox program with the San Francisco Symphony.
Tim Higgins
San Francisco Symphony Principal Trombone Timothy Higgins is adept at mixing his passions: an intense orchestra life, balanced by running, mixology, and composing.
Nadya Tichman
San Francisco Symphony Associate Concertmaster Nadya Tichman shares her love of creating beautiful music and beautiful meals.
Grahame White
Australian Vipassana teacher Grahame White has been involved in Buddhist meditation practice for over 40 years. He began his study in England in 1969 before being ordained as a Buddhist monk for one year in BodhGaya, India in 1971. He took a primary role in the establishment of Vipassana meditation in the tradition of Mahasi Sayadaw in Australia and co-founded the Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre outside Sydney.
Sal Tran
A queer, nonbinary, Vietnamese filmmaker shares their reflections on staying grounded and empowered through battles with suicidal depression and PTSD.
Art Haus
Conceived of by Courtney Wise and Robin Dekkers in 2017, Art Haus Collective is a performing arts organization dedicated to bringing edgy, spectacular performances of classical and contemporary works to Burning Man and other unique spaces.