May Hong HaDuong has served in the film archiving world for over 15 years. She has expertise on the complexities surrounding access to moving images, including the programming, cataloging, conservation, preservation, research and use of physical and digital elements. May Hong also has over 20 years of experience in the LGBTQIA film world, shifting from programming film festivals to managing and advising on the conservation of queer films.

May Hong HaDuong was born in Wisconsin to parents who had fled their home country during the Vietnam War. May Hong was raised in Orange County, California and educated at Wellesley College in Massachusetts for her Bachelor of Arts and the University of California, Los Angeles for her Master of Arts in Moving Image Archive Studies. After receiving her degree at Wellesley College in Cinema and Media Studies, she was the co-curator of the Boston LGBT Film Festival. Her passion in film archiving was sparked by the realization that the life cycle of film does not end with distribution. Following graduate school, May Hong utilized her experience in queer film and archiving in her role as the Project Manager for the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project for LGBT Moving Image Preservation, which houses the moving image collection of the ONE Archives. She currently serves as the Director of the UCLA Film & Television Archives, the first woman and person of color to lead the organization in its 55-year history. Prior to that, May was the senior manager of public access at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, where she served as a principal representative for the Academy’s film archive.

May Hong, who has previously served on the Teddy Jury for the Berlin International Film Festival, as a screener for the Sundance Film Festival, and as co-chairs for the Association of Moving Image Archivists LGBT and Elections committees, is currently a member of the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project Advisory Committee. May Hong, who loves to collect rose-colored drinkware and travel with friends, lives in the greater Los Angeles area with her parrot Ginseng LaBeija.