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.
Awards
“Best Dramatic Short” Cinequest * Oscar Qualified
“Young Cineastes Award” Palm Springs ShortFest
“Audience Choice Award” Cinequest Film Festival
”Best Short Film” Bentonville Film Festival
“Best Narrative Short” San Diego Asian Film Fest
“Best Director” TIDE Film Festival
“Rising Star Award” Bushwick Film Festival
“The Marlyn Mason Award” 1st Prize at Flickers’ Rhode Island
“Outstanding Cinematography” Salute Your Shorts
“Best Local Film” Drunken Film Festival Oakland
“Best Short Film” Oakland Short Film Festival
“Best Sound Design” Berlin Indie Film Festival
“Audience Choice Award: Best Narrative Short” DisOrient
“Gratitude Award” Centre Film Festival
“Best Sound Design” Cannes Shorts Film Festival
“Audience Award: Best Narrative Short” Centre Film Fest
“Excellence in Narrative Short Storytelling” Destiny Film Fest
“Audience Award: Best Narrative Short” Coronado Island
“Best Sound Design” New York International Film Awards
”Best Director” Female Voices Rock Film Festival
“Outstanding Music” Short Circuit Pacific Rim Film Festival
”Outstanding International Film” Short Circuit Pacific Rim
“Best SFX” Venice Art & Film Festival
“Best Narrative Short” Silicon Valley Asian Pacific Film Fest
“Best Directing for a Short" Port Townsend Film Festival
“Gold Award: Best Sound Design” Milan Gold Awards
Nominations/Honorable Mentions
Honorable Mention “Best Live-Action Short” Gold List
Nominated “Best Short Film, Drama” NFMLA Awards
Nominated “Best Cinematography” (Drew Daniels) NFMLA Awards
Nominated “Best Performance, Drama” (Terry Hu) NFMLA Awards
Nominated “Best Narrative Short” Seattle Asian American
Nominated “Best Narrative Short” Philadelphia Asian American
Nominated “Best Female Focus” Cordillera Film Festival
Nominated “Best Local Film” Salute Your Shorts Film Festival
Semi-finalist ScreenCraft Film Fund Fall 2019
Official Selections: Atlanta Film Festival · Cleveland International Film Festival · Urbanworld · IndyShorts International Film Festival · Newport Beach Film Festival · Calgary International Film Festival · Pittsburgh Shorts Film Festival · LA Shorts International · San Diego International ShortFest · Boston Asian American Film Festival · Vancouver Asian American Film Festival · CAAM Fest · NewFilmmakers LA · DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival + more
CREW
Writer & Director: Erica Eng
Producer: Simran Mahal
Casting Director: Claire Koonce
Director of Photography: Drew Daniels
Production Design: J.D. Moran
1st AD: Dominic Martin
Production Manager: Maya Neumeier
Wardrobe Stylist: Jillian Knox
Make-up Dept. Head: Josie Rodriguez
Hair Dept. Head: Alicia Barry
Braids: Jessica Buera
Production Sound: Max Hiertenstein
Sports Choreographer: Tiffani Pak
Skyline Representatives: Dennis Spenser + Mark Frey
Creative Consultant: Dionna McMillian
CAST
Eng: Terry Hu
Nee Nee: Helen Ong
Steph: Amber Gaston
Tori: Sharar Ali-Speaks
Coach Carr: Mark Neely
David: Charles Yan
Denise: Shannon Dang
Meuy: Mary Jo Mendoza
ASU Student: Quinlin Lam
Student DJ: Brandon Robinson
Skyline High Teammates: Taijana Okechuwuku, Jessica Acosta, Autumn Tucker, Lauryn Williams, Monica Martinez, Alishia Beaty
Oakland High Coach: Orlando Gray
Oakland High Teammates: Tiana Burks, Mariah Martinez, Jadyn Straker, Destiny Adams, Brooklyn Hadley, Enjolique Perry, Aniyah Story, D'Aishanae Adams, Kya Pearson
POST + SOUND
Editor: Bowei Yue
Sound Design & Mix: Bo Pang
Music Composer: Aiko Fukushima
Post Color: Asa Fox
Featuring Music by Zion I and Beejus
Poster design by Blood, Sweat + Polony
— Click Title to Read Article —
[Article Link] “The authenticity that went into the screenplay translates perfectly to screen, working to compliment the emotional arc of the narrative. By setting her story in Oakland, Eng not only echoes her own experiences, but also captures the hip-hop culture that is so influential in her main character’s life. Through subtle and nuanced moments, we see how out of place Eng feels no matter where she is: on her team or with the other Asian kids. With the story set in high school, the bullying she is subjected to cuts even deeper, because as a Chinese American teenager she is already having to deal with building her own identity, caught in between these two cultures. And that was something that Eng was particularly focused on portraying in Americanized, the director explaining that she wanted to “showcase the diversity within the Asian American experience”.”
[Article Link] "Erica Eng’s Americanized has won short film prizes from the Palm Springs Shortfest to the Cinequest Film Festival, so it could be a major player if it is shortlisted at this year’s Academy Awards...Director Eng keeps the film moving briskly and we feel her leading lady’s awkwardness. Americanized is a prime example that not fitting in is a universal story and we will always find these tales to be true. Terry Hu, the film’s lead, carries a weighty but sensitive presence throughout."
[Article Link] "This made me cry. Watching Eng find joy in thinking she found her people and then have someone snatch that over a fairly innocent comment, over and over, it breaks your heart a little bit. Especially since Eng isn’t in desperate need of a friend, but you can see an effort being made to blend in and belong. Hence the recommendation: Americanized gives you the real deal feeling of being an outsider, and combine that with Erica Eng’s ability to film a tense basketball game, and you get a winner."
[Article Link] Film Business Live Action Short Film Oscar Shortlist Predictions 2022 - "It’s that time of year when we stick our necks out and predict which films which we think will be on the Oscar shortlist in the live action short film category…"
[Article Link] "This film will surely reverberate through the souls of the young and old alike, the minority and BIPOC communities, as well as nearly everyone else because it points out the age-old question of, “Where do I belong?” that becomes a part of everyone’s spiritual and emotional growth journey as we come into ourselves as young adults. This becomes even more poignant and heartrending when one struggles to embrace two cultures, which Eng has beautifully and expressively demonstrated. May we all be moved to search our souls to empathize more with others undergoing this plight in the future after internalizing the core ideas of the powerful, brilliantly directed, courageous film, Americanized."
[Article Link] "We will keep supporting this amazing short film and hope you will watch and enjoy it too. This timely live action short film could see Eng nominated for and win her first Oscar! Perhaps the first of many for this talented director."
[Article Link] "Overall, Americanized is an enthralling short with a relevant, emotionally engaging story; a superb performance from its lead and sporting vibrant visuals – I cannot wait to see more from this exceptional filmmaker."
[Article Link] "Erica Eng demonstrates with Americanized that you don’t need a feature film to lay bare cultural relationships and interracial struggles in an American high school. In a deeply moving 16 minutes she doesn’t mess around and delves straight into an emotional struggle and turmoil that grips you to the core."
[Article Link] "Well constructed, the short has done the festival tour and won plenty of awards. Easy to see why. It packs a lot of punch in a short time and without making the viewer feel manipulated. Gives you a chance to walk a mile in another’s shoes. Understand how someone can feel neither fully Chinese nor American. As well, that the Chinese American experience is a diverse one."
[Article Link] "There is a lot of confidence in Erica Eng’s short film, from the effective handheld camerawork that compliments both the action on the court and the awkward interactions our lead has with those around her. Constantly, you feel grounded within the story, present in the struggles of Eng’s day to day life. Be it the conversations in the classroom with other Asian American students or when she tries to fit in with her basketball friends. We are positioned perfectly to be a fly on the wall at this small but important juncture in her young life."
[Article Link] "Eng’s 17 minute short film doesn’t dig too deeply, but still manages to convey the insecurities and frustration of teenage years. The basketball scenes are better than most of what we’ve seen in movies, but it’s Ms. Hu’s performance that allows us to feel what she feels. Erica Eng has expertly captured her own experience as a high school student, and in the process, announced herself as a filmmaker to keep an eye on."
