In Full Bloom explores the depths of an elderly lady's lonliness, since the recent passing of her husband. Cecile, having found solace in hoarding, and growing plants orders special worms to help her plant grow. But soon her hoarding pallette is threatened by those very worms and her memories fall into darkness.

Through a fantastical lens, LA based Vietnamese-Chinese filmmaker Maegan Houang draws upon her own experience with her grandfather. Having severe dementia, and an inability to remember that his wife had died, he often asked where she was in the middle of the night. Houang <<I spent my childhood feeling haunted by the loss of a person I barely knew. >>

So in Full Bloom poses the question: Can a person ever truly overcome losing someone they love? And therefore explores the methods of coping after the death of a partner, which often leads to unresolved trauma and severe mental illness. In this theme, Houang wanted to keep true to her personal experience and therefore sheds light on the unique circumstances that affect Vietnamese Americans, particularly older individuals within the community.

<<In many immigrant and refugee communities, past trauma continues to haunt people throughout their lives. I wanted to capture this aspect of Cecile’s life by visualizing how holding onto every little thing has become an unhealthy and fleeting source of comfort.>>

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