Watch: ‘Americanized’ Superb Basketball Coming-of-Age Short Film

Watch: ‘Americanized’ Superb Basketball Coming-of-Age Short Film

by Alex Billington
August 25, 2022
Source: YouTube

“I want to se that kind of hustle from you in the playoffs.” After winning awards at film festivals throughout 2021, this excellent short is finally online. Americanized is a film by a filmmaker named Erica Eng and it’s about a young woman dealing with racism and bullying at her high school. This is one of those stand out shorts that establishes a filmmaker and proves they’re capable of making something amazing, and I hope Eng gets a chance to make a feature soon. 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. Starring Terry Hu as Eng, Amber Gaston, Shannon Dang, & Helen Ong. This is a must watch short – highly recommend taking the time.

Thanks to Short of the Week for featuring this film. Intro from YouTube: “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 is both written and directed by filmmaker Erica Eng – you can see more of her work on her Vimeo or visit her official website or follow her on IG @missericaeng. Produced by Simran Mahal. Featuring cinematography by Drew Daniels, and music composed by Aiko Fukushima. This initially premiered at the 2021 Palm Springs International Short Film Festival, where it won the Young Cineaste Award. For more info on the short, visit SOTW or head to Eng’s website. To discover more short films, click here. Your thoughts?

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