Americanized
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.
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Erica EngWriterFighter, Poison
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Erica EngDirectorFighter, Poison
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Simran MahalProducerDon't Be A Hero, Rocking Horses, Biophilia
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Drew DanielsDirector of PhotographyWaves, Euphoria, Thunder Road, Skin
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Claire KoonceCasting DirectorWomen Is Losers, Cloak & Dagger, Walking Deceased
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J.D. MoranProduction DesignerSorry To Bother You, Blindspotting
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Bowei YueEditorBalloon, To us, From Us
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Terry HuKey Cast""Eng""End of Summer
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Amber GastonKey Cast"Steph"Mermaid Down, Sweet Taste of Souls, Stab'N Cabin, Angels of Mercy
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Helen OngKey Cast"Nee Nee"
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Charles YanKey Cast"David"Lion
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Shannon DangKey Cast"Denise"Kung Fu, Prison Logic, The Romanoffs, Sorry for your Loss, The L Word: Generation Q
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Sharar Ali-SpeaksKey Cast"Tori"
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Mark A. NeelyKey Cast"Coach Carr"Amazing Ape, Passions
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Aiko FukushimaMusic ComposerThe Mummy, District 9, Leaving Neverland
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Bo PangSound Designer + MixGhazaal
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Project Type:Short
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Genres:Drama, Coming of Age, Sports, Female Led
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Runtime:17 minutes
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Completion Date:March 20, 2021
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Sony Venice
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Aspect Ratio:2.39
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:No
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Cinequest Film & VR Festival - WINNER "Best Dramatic Short"
World Premiere
"Best Dramatic Short" -
Cinequest Film & VR Festival - WINNER "Audience Choice Award"
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Palm Springs International ShortFest - WINNER “Young Cineastes Award”Palm Springs
“Young Cineastes Award” -
Atlanta Film Festival
Southern -
LA Shorts International
Los Angeles -
Bentonville Film Festival
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DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival
Erica is a fifth-generation Chinese American director based out of Los Angeles. Her films have screened at Atlanta Film Festival, Palm Springs International ShortFest, Cinequest, and HollyShorts among others.
Inspired by her Oakland roots, Erica creates work that reflects the diverse community in which she grew up. As a student, Erica used her winnings at the San Francisco International Film Festival to buy camera gear and shoot videos around the bay area. Erica moved to Los Angeles where she worked her way up the assistant ladder before becoming the executive assistant to the Academy-nominated director, Michael Mann. She spent six years balancing work with her own projects before taking the leap to become a full-time director.
Erica’s combined background in film and dance influences the rhythm and energy behind her emotional storytelling. Through her character-driven films, Erica creates stories that explore themes of cross-cultural relationships, acceptance and self-discovery.
This is my first narrative screenplay and I wrote this story based on my experiences growing up in Oakland as a fifth-generation Chinese American. I had a hard time understanding what it meant to be Chinese because my family didn’t speak the language, cook the food, or practice many of the traditions. I didn’t feel fully Chinese, or fully American - I just felt lost.
"Americanized" represents a younger version of myself who was trying to figure out who I was and where I belonged. To some, being called Americanized meant that you were identifying with white American culture, but the version of America that I grew up in is Oakland’s street culture. The corn-rowed hairstyle that the main character appropriates shows an attempt to fit in with her version of being “American.” We’ll see her try to become everything that she’s not, only because she wants to be accepted at the end of the day.
Creating this film was a deeply personal experience. We filmed at my old high school with the help of the Oakland filmmaking community and my old computer teacher Mr. Frey who encouraged me to learn filmmaking as a teenager. This is a film that I self-financed, and it exemplifies my identity as a filmmaker. I'm excited that this film can shed a light on the diversity of the Asian American experience.