Humble Beginning
Born on August 10, 1991 in Dong Nai Province of Vietnam, he has mostly been living and working in Ho Chi Minh City. Chau is one of four children in the family, but he is the only one affected. Chau’s mother accidently drank water from a chemically contaminated source leading to him being affected before birth. Six months old, Chau was moved to Hoa Binh village in Tu Du Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City. Not until 12 years old, he discovered he had a family. At 17, Le Minh Chau decided to leave Hoa Binh village. He opened his own studio, became a teacher, clothing designer, interior designer, photographic studio background creator. Painting was his passion and his primary way to make a living. Being a painter was his dream job. People told him he'd never make it, but he pressed forward to prove them wrong.
Painting his own destiny
When he was walking down a museum hallway as a young kid, Chau saw a wall of hundreds of bright paintings. He had never seen so much color in his life. Overwhelmed with joy and happiness, he wanted to make other people feel this way. Growing up in the care center, Chau lost himself in the colors and in his art. Within the confines of a small wheelchair, his limbs barely allow him to pick up a marker from the jumble of coloring supplies in front of him, let alone create an entire picture. For 20 years, since he was 8 years old, Chau has been creating oil paintings and develop his own artistic school. To Chau, creativity means creating a completely new trend. Although oil painting is his principal, he likes to combine different materials including acrylic, steel wires, sand from the ocean and even toilet papers into his works.
Limelight
In February 2016, the name Le Minh Chau was introduced at the The Dobly Theatre in Los Angeles when the documentary “Chau, beyond the lines” was nominated for an Oscar. Sometimes, Chau still can’t believe that a film about him is so successful. Throughout the film, not only a disabled boy was featured learning foreign languages and how to play football but also his strong desire to become a Painter and a Fashion Designer.
COURTNEY MARSH Director AND JERRY FRANCK Producer
Chau, Beyond the Lines in Oscar 2016
Courtney Marsh, Director
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"I wanted to make a movie about a kid who wanted something beyond what maybe you and I think he could ever achieve. He paints giant murals with his mouth. He's never focused on what he doesn't have. He just does it."
AL JAZEERA News
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“Chau's story is something we all go through: growing up, wrestling with our dreams and demons, wondering how our lives will turn out.”
Variety Magazine
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“Marsh maintains a steady and unwaveringly sympathetic tone as she charts Chau’s passage through cycles of despair and hope, while her camera takes appreciative measure of his burgeoning and at times ingeniously applied talent.”
