Abstract:

"Deemed little more than an irritant by her older sister and routinely humiliated by the racist taunts of her white classmates, a young Chinese American girl succumbs to the cruelties of a dehumanizing childhood and retreats into self-delusion. Armed with a pen, a diary and a fanciful imagination that does her more harm than good, she re-envisions her disheartening life story as feckless, empowered, happy -- a world away from the disappointments and defeats that mark the path of her personal development. When she meets a Chinese American man whose supportiveness and love may help her to realize her dreams of becoming a writer, she finally faces a situation where the truth may be better than the lie and the only question is, 'Which is more comforting?' A painful examination of how the need to be accepted by those around you defines character, 17 YEARS TO EARTH vividly captures the sense of alienation and inability to come to terms with racial identity plaguing many young Asian Americans." Narrator: Jo Shu./ Cast: Gina Chai (Kathy Chu); Stella Ma (Young Kathy); Jim Shu (Kirby Wang). Produced in partial fulfullment of the requirements for the MFA degree of the Film Division, School of the Arts, Columbia University./ Winner of the Polo Ralph Lauren best screenplay award.