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 film "Americanized" screened at Atlanta Film Festival, Cleveland International, and Urbanworld among others. The film based on her experiences playing high school basketball premiered on Vimeo's Short of the Week and took home 18 awards including Palm Springs International ShortFest (Young Cineastes Award), Bentonville Film Festival (Best Short Film), and the Oscar-qualifying award at Cinequest (Best Dramatic Short).
Recently, Erica's latest film "Off Fairfax" had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. She also became one out of six directors hand-selected for Disney’s Launchpad Shorts Incubator program where she will be mentored by executives from Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm as she directs a coming-of-age ghost story for Disney+.
Inspired by her Oakland roots, Erica creates work that reflects the diverse community in which she grew up. Her combined background in cinematography and dance influences the rhythm and energy behind her emotional storytelling.
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.