AMERICANIZED
Directed by Erica Eng
Produced by Simran Mahal
United States | English | 17' | Fiction
Growing up in Oakland’s hip-hop culture, Eng struggles with her Chinese American identity. To her high school basketball team, she’s just that girl who sits on the bench; but to the Asian kids she’s "Americanized." As her sophomore year of high school comes to an end, Eng tries to find a sense of belonging within the two worlds that don't accept her.
Americanized strikes the perfect balance between offering a culturally specific point of view and depicting an emotionally universal conundrum — “What do you do when you’re stuck between two worlds and you don’t fit into either?” The lens through which director Erica Eng helmed her script, inspired by her childhood in 90’s Oakland, is also specific and universally appealing. From the perfect casting/acting to the art direction and overall visual approach, there will be no doubt in any viewer’s mind that they’re in the hands of a masterclass filmmaker. — Erin Brown Thomas, Artistic Director
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