Just back from Closing Night at San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, and am delighted to share the news that A Lot Like You was honored with the CAAM/SFIAAFF 2012 Best Documentary Award!

The 10 films included in SFIAAFF’s Doc Competition are truly phenomenal–powerful subject matter, compelling stories, beautifully told.  So I am profoundly grateful to the Jury — Vincent Pan, Momo Chang, and Brian Hu — for their thoughtful recognition of our film.

Jury Statement: A LOT LIKE YOU takes us on a personal journey into the most vulnerable corners of a family history spanning generations and continents. This layered documentary starts with a familiar exploration of mixed-race identity as the narrator searches for her roots, but brings the discussion to surprising levels of personal and political self-awareness. Fresh and inspired, tender and uncommonly smart, A LOT LIKE YOU triumphs as an exemplary work of first-person documentary for the 21st century.

And I wanted to express my gratitude to the Center for Asian American Media and the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival for recognizing that even a film that takes place almost exclusively in a rural village on Mt Kilimanjaro in East Africa could be relevant, and possibly even contribute and shape and help inform the conversations we’re having about the Asian American experience in this country.  And for this expansive, inclusive understanding of what constitutes`Asian-American,’ I am truly grateful.

I know this recognition will help open doors to future collaborations with community based organizations or film festivals or university departments working with Asian/Asian-American/Mixed-race/Indigenous peoples.  And I can think of no greater gift for a first-time filmmaker than this gift of Access.

So thank you for paving the way for A Lot Like You to move out into the world, with intention, so that it can continue to do its work…