Joua Lee Grande

Joua Lee Grande (She/Her)
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Joua Lee Grande is a Hmong American storyteller, filmmaker and community connector whose work shines a light on under-heard voices and experiences. She is part of a growing midwest film community where she mentors and supports emerging filmmakers from underrepresented communities. Joua spent over 10 years in nonprofits and community organizing supporting storytellers, families and youth. She shares knowledge as a speaker and guest instructor in community programs and events. She is also a rising traditional Hmong healer, and her complicated reconnection with her people’s spiritual practice is captured in her deeply personal documentary Spirited (in post-production).

Joua’s films have screened on platforms like WORLD Channel, PBS digital, Twin Cities PBS, CAAMFest, L.A. Asian American Film Fest and PBS Short Film Festival. They have also screened in local spaces like Public Functionary, Mixed Blood Theater, Walker Art Center and more. Her short film On All Fronts received an Honorable Mention for CAAMFest’s Loni Ding Award for Social Justice Documentary and was the opening episode in the series Asian American Stories of Resilience which earned a Daytime Emmy nomination. In addition to the Waterers, Joua is a member of groups like Brown Girls Doc Mafia, Documentary Producers Alliance, APIA MN Film Collective, and CôR Collective, and Asian American Documentary Network (A-Doc) where she served on the steering committee from 2020 through 2023. She has received various national film fellowships — mentioned here.