Minh-ha was the keynote speaker at a conference Saturday night at the Nittany Lion Inn.
She spoke to an audience of about 500 people about her Vietnam War-era childhood and her family's migration to the United States.
Minh-ha said Vietnamese folklore, literature and her life all shared themes, Eckhardt said.
While artists and writers previously used only one language and tradition in their work, Minh-ha is an example of many modern artists who truly belong to multiple cultures, Eckhardt said.
In her lectures, Minh-ha also discusses social justice and issues of feminism and cultural politics recur in her work, said Lyn Elliot, assistant professor of communications in the film and video department.
Her speeches are framed by screenings of her films, Eckhardt said.
The first film, a documentary called Surname Viet Given Name Nam was shown Thursday. The film focused on the experiences of Vietnamese women during the Vietnam War, Elliot said.
"The film deals with the question of how to represent people's experience in a truthful, authentic way that preserves their own voice," Elliot said.
Night Passage is the story of a journey by train, Eckhardt said.
The double screening is part of a regular Wednesday night film series organized by Elliot through the College of Communications.
Admission to the Wednesday night screenings is free and open to the public.
Many Wednesday night screenings feature international films, said Lucas Buck, vice president of the Student Film Organization.
"When you're in film school, you learn that many people are anti-Hollywood," he said. "Hollywood is so readily accessible, and foreign and international film screenings really open us up."
For students who attend, the film may be more challenging than most.
Minh-ha's films are more concerned with exploring ideas than catching up an audience in a story, Elliot said.
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