Behind the Mirror
Minidoc
Director, Producer
Oct 17, 2025
Changing the Beauty Game
Behind the Mirror follows award-winning female entrepreneur Nhu Le, founder of the viral clean-beauty brand Finding Ferdinand, through the rhythm of her next upcoming product launch. We get a first-hand view of Nhu balancing the pressures of launching a new campaign with the typically-silenced strength drawn from her family’s history.
The title references both the literal mirror of beauty culture and the figurative one: the people who bring these products to us.
A Story that Speaks on Generations
Nhu's parents arrived in America after the Vietnam War with nothing but determination. That resilience shaped her approach to business, while her mother’s recovery from cancer became the foundation for Finding Ferdinand’s clean-beauty mission.
Between spreadsheets and product samples, the film pauses for moments of stillness: Nhu closing her laptop, stepping into yoga, and calling her sister. What emerges isn’t a story of commerce, but of inheritance, but how courage, gratitude, and love move through generations and into the work we create.
Creative Approach
Shot in an observational style inspired by The Doggist, Nhu's day to day activities work in parallel to her reflection, further proving the authenticity to her driving forces.
The use of handheld camera shots represents the handcrafted elements as Nhu builds her brand. A minimalist score underscores the contrast between hustle and introspection, while dialogue excerpts weave naturally into b-roll to preserve authenticity. The edit reveals layers: the steady rhythm of leadership, the fragility of burnout, and the grace of someone learning to breathe through both.
As one of Luca's first documentary projects, he notes learning some of the valuable skills in maintaining authenticity and bridging a personal relationship from the subjects to the camera.
When we first pitched this project, it was focused on Nhu's successful and chaotic entrepreneurship. And while those were true, there was another story emerging in between scenes - the strong family ties. What I learned is that vulnerability can't be forced out; it comes in the in-between moments. We should have been rolling in the car between the scenes!
