https://www.ahaandwow.com/press daily 0.75 2020-11-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1602396333327-GOQKZEJSDK6KIGZF6E06/ALL+FESTIVAL+BANNER_smaller+copy.png Press https://www.ahaandwow.com/press/o8x6cifh90vdy3rp3lntlyjvfhgtd5 monthly 0.5 2020-10-01 https://www.ahaandwow.com/press/rrj09if5vd9yv53ri8qx5hocd4vxaa monthly 0.5 2020-10-01 https://www.ahaandwow.com/press/tod1pmmes5slsz14ife6nzh1dg595y monthly 0.5 2020-10-01 https://www.ahaandwow.com/press/g63744mnahw6okit3191l81rmlqg6u monthly 0.5 2020-10-01 https://www.ahaandwow.com/press/6pqms1v2fjektfrijhsh9o32looh6r monthly 0.5 2020-10-01 https://www.ahaandwow.com/press/61nz2ynujv8m0xsaufi5eija816qzv monthly 0.5 2020-09-30 https://www.ahaandwow.com/press/p52ol4npvendj7rldfzi31wn9bfi55 monthly 0.5 2020-11-16 https://www.ahaandwow.com/press/category/Wild+Card monthly 0.5 https://www.ahaandwow.com/press/category/Values monthly 0.5 https://www.ahaandwow.com/home daily 1.0 2025-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1598902402500-1O7PTMEJ0RE89HROHZ97/Values_Thumbnail-01.png Home - Values "Values" also won Best Animated Short at SIGGRAPH, which qualified it for the Academy Awards. It also won a student Emmy. Recently, both his films also had the honor of being screened at the Classic USC shorts program alongside George Lucas and Robert Zemeckis's student films. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1601063105502-5S5T4OX7JB4KN6VJ6N4H/Wow_Tagline.png Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1601063147437-OT4H4SKPS6UZL6K01D6F/Featured_Projects.png Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1598903187426-ZQXLP3FB9ML5D8RB2PM3/Upstander_Thumbnail_2-01.png Home - UPSTANDER "Upstander" is a 360-animated experience about bullying and how we can make a difference if we step in. Upstander recently premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and the Cannes XR Film Festival. It was created with the Oculus VR for Good Program and youth charity The Diana Award. The experience uses scale, embodiment, and space to push the boundaries of the medium. Revolved around a child’s school day, Upstander touches on the trauma caused by social, verbal, physical, and cyberbullying. He is excited that Upstander is currently used by two research institutions in behavioral therapy research studies. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1598902634895-FV337ESYDMXA1PV5AHKR/Wild_Card_Thumbnail-01.png Home - Wild Card Wild Card premiere at SIGGRAPH and also won numerous awards including The Best of Show at the 3D Magazine awards. It was also an official selection at SXSW film festival and screened at over twenty film festivals. https://www.ahaandwow.com/aboutus daily 0.75 2024-08-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1601404020890-VUEAE2FP9PZM50GQZXE8/The+Team+copy+%28Conflicted+copy+from+Michael%E2%80%99s+MacBook+Pro+on+2020-09-29%29.png About Us https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1601013077694-4FPTVCXQ3UDALVDSQYQM/The+Team_Text.png About Us https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1601055235224-P7Z3ER44L8QRZN501PBQ/Creator.png About Us As a refugee escaping from Vietnam, Van's childhood dream job was to become a comic book artist because he loves to tell stories. However, his parents wanted him to pursue a more stable career, so off he went to study psychology and business economics at UCLA. Upon graduating with cum laude honors from UCLA, he went to work for Ernst and Young. As he was crunching numbers as an accountant, Van yearned to doodle instead. Fortunately, a chance screening of the SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater changed his life. After seeing a fantastic short film created by just one individual, Van was inspired and transformed. That aha moment was transformative as it motivated him to learn this emerging technology so he could tell his own stories. Upon passing the CPA exam and receiving a full scholarship to attend USC for his first year. Van took the leap and enrolled at USC cinematic arts program to get his MFA. While in school he completed two animated shorts "Wild Card" and "Values" which went on to screen at over sixty film festivals. "Wild Card" and "Values", screened at the SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater and won numerous awards, including two Student Emmys. "Values" also won Best Animated Short at SIGGRAPH, which qualified it for the Academy Awards in the best animated short division. Van has worked as an animator, previs artist, and designer for films and games produced by Dreamworks, Sony Imageworks, Digital Domain, Activision, 2K, Naughty Dog ILM and Blue Sky Studios. His credits include Harry Potter, Shrek2, Madagascar, Stuart Little 2, Ice Age 3, John Carter, Uncharted, How to Train Your Dragon (pilot), Oz the Great and Powerful, Thor, Alice and Wonderland, Skylanders, NBA2K17, Captain America Civil War, and various other projects including award-winning VR projects screened at the Tribeca, Cannes and Venice Film Festival. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1601054480013-0KWNPDX9IHZFCAYV9NAU/Upstander_Van_Phan_headshot_Castro_Dream.png About Us https://www.ahaandwow.com/values daily 0.75 2020-10-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1598732067374-O5HNA04K1O487WHKLVH9/VALUES.png Values https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1598301848438-P5EIVD43QY1F37C4ONXZ/Values+Movie+Poster.png Values "Values" also won Best Animated Short at SIGGRAPH, which qualified it for the Academy Awards. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1601735810831-3URG4Z5SWRAQ1KX4HZBP/The+Press+copy.png Values https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1601404103458-MG08T1MAZBWOR705ABWZ/Arrow_comic_Left_Upstander.png Values https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1601404181136-TAH7H2CZGMYYZ7NFBNOS/Arrow_comic_right_Wild_Card.png Values https://www.ahaandwow.com/wild-card daily 0.75 2020-10-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1601074288872-JXXHKGP01P88PHOMOE6N/WILDCARD_Rev.png Wild Card https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1598904487385-4X1PGOZINF6Q7OXGLZOH/WILD+CARD+Movie+Poster.png Wild Card The lonely Queen of hearts searches for a suitor that can win her hand. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1601735404791-UWUW066HH53AHT6VN0RP/The+Press+copy.png Wild Card https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1601404461412-VFQCXJAJHBWQYT0KB21N/Arrow_comic_right_Upstander.png Wild Card https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1601404395977-LZYM86A75A8PBSUD0UW7/Arrow_comic_Left_Values.png Wild Card https://www.ahaandwow.com/contact daily 0.75 2020-10-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1602351640518-M66OZJWTOGC9AMS2ZBBY/Let_Us_Know+copy.png Contact https://www.ahaandwow.com/projects daily 0.75 2025-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1602397140360-Y265EVFGVRH8RP7UEQ9R/ALL+FESTIVAL+BANNER_smaller+copy.png Projects https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1601070479072-XM4ZYQU36Z9MVPEMH7C1/Comic_WildCard.jpg Projects - WILD CARD https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1601066324494-0ZUJER9N2BP5N5NOKWA0/Comic_Upstander.jpg Projects - UPSTANDER https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1601070318725-WI9PY5YT5D8S0REZGJJP/Comic_Values+copy.jpg Projects - VALUES https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1601072254054-V2U7WH4GMTDE1B4M8WQM/Coming_Soon.png Projects https://www.ahaandwow.com/upstander daily 0.75 2025-04-01 https://www.ahaandwow.com/aboutus-1 daily 0.75 2025-11-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1601013077694-4FPTVCXQ3UDALVDSQYQM/The+Team_Text.png Marketing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/ca58d15e-6814-418d-bf53-797bc8b17c51/IMG_0793.jpeg Marketing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f231f7fb1d63106d82fe7ff/1601055235224-P7Z3ER44L8QRZN501PBQ/Creator.png Marketing As a refugee escaping from Vietnam, Van's childhood dream job was to become a comic book artist because he loves to tell stories. However, his parents wanted him to pursue a more stable career, so off he went to study psychology and business economics at UCLA. Upon graduating with cum laude honors from UCLA, he went to work for Ernst and Young. As he was crunching numbers as an accountant, Van yearned to doodle instead. Fortunately, a chance screening of the SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater changed his life. After seeing a fantastic short film created by just one individual, Van was inspired and transformed. That aha moment was transformative as it motivated him to learn this emerging technology so he could tell his own stories. Upon passing the CPA exam and receiving a full scholarship to attend USC for his first year. Van took the leap and enrolled at USC cinematic arts program to get his MFA. While in school he completed two animated shorts "Wild Card" and "Values" which went on to screen at over sixty film festivals. "Wild Card" and "Values", screened at the SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater and won numerous awards, including two Student Emmys. "Values" also won Best Animated Short at SIGGRAPH, which qualified it for the Academy Awards in the best animated short division. Van has worked as an animator, previs artist, and designer for films and games produced by Dreamworks, Sony Imageworks, Digital Domain, Activision, 2K, Naughty Dog ILM and Blue Sky Studios. His credits include Harry Potter, Shrek2, Madagascar, Stuart Little 2, Ice Age 3, John Carter, Uncharted, How to Train Your Dragon (pilot), Oz the Great and Powerful, Thor, Alice and Wonderland, Skylanders, NBA2K17, Captain America Civil War, and various other projects including award-winning VR projects screened at the Tribeca, Cannes and Venice Film Festival.