Director's statement

As a young person growing up in Boston, I was embarrassed to be Chinese. To avoid being bullied at school, I learned to speak English without any kind of accent. The pressure to assimilate was great and in doing so something was lost within myself. I felt empty and unfulfilled _ disconnected from my family and friends. I felt invisible _ like I didn't exist. Who am I? Through the process of making the film, I was able to rediscover myself, learn to value and love who I am. I also developed a deeper respect and understanding for other people and their journeys in life -I learned compassion for other people. As an Asian Pacific American, how do we learn to own our identity while educating the rest of America about who we are? With My Life in China and all my other work, I want to honor and acknowledge the sacrifice and efforts of my elders and ancestors as well as help forge the new Asian American identity.

This is part of our Seed&Spark Must-Sees playlist.