Film

Through the art of poetry, I, Kaia Resell, channel the complex and difficult feelings I’ve grown up with as I relate my own identity. Being both Norwegian and Japanese, the daughter of an immigrant, and an American citizen, I’ve felt like the other in a group of minorities; not white enough for the white kids and not asain enough for the asian kids. This PSA is intended to help fellow multiracial, multicultural kids realize that they can accept all aspects of their identity and never let anyone make them feel like they aren’t what they know they are.

My entry shares my personal struggles where I was afraid to express my feelings to my parents, but I have gained the courage to reach out for help. In the film theres the subtle signs that many people do not realize that they are coping with, like staying in their safe space.

Innocence responds to the Hope & Justice prompt “What I Wish My Parent(s) and Other Adults Knew” by exploring the emotional distance that can form between a parent and child during the transition into adulthood. The film reflects how young people often struggle to explain what they feel, even to the adults closest to them.

Rather than relying on dialogue, the film uses quiet moments and silence to express what is left unsaid. It asks adults to recognize that withdrawal and distance are often signs of vulnerability, not defiance, and invites them to listen more closely to emotional cues that are easy to miss.

My entry explores Asian American standards on school and how it affects mental health.

In our film, Love Makes Me Whole, we explore the mental health challenges that come with being multi-racial. The character and the background are split into two colors, to symbolize the divide that people with multi-cultural identities can feel. Ultimately, the character realizes that their background does not divide them. They remember that they exist from the love of their parents, and that their background does not divide them, but makes them unique. We used family photos to show the theme of connection and love. We hope that this film will help other multi-racial students feel seen and comfortable in their identity.

This film is about me struggling with understanding why I do the things I do, not giving myself credit for the hard work that I put into every aspect of my life. about me putting myself down because I think that the things I do have no significance or purpose. When coming up with an idea for directing change, I felt very lost. It felt like I needed to come up with this groundbreaking and astonishing idea that every person would understand and be blown away by. Because of this, I stalled for a very long time, I was stuck. I was stuck in my same routine of work that felt endless. So, that’s what I decided to make the film about, about not being able to fully understand what my purpose is, and throughout the process of making this filmed I realized that because of all of this, I truly stopped loving myself. I stopped loving who I am. This film was extremely eye opening to me in many ways, such as understanding its okay to not fully understand your purpose, or to learn that your actions have impact, that they truly matter. And this is what I hope people can take from this film. You should love yourself regardless of where you are at or where you might think you’re going, and that its okay to feel stuck, because at the end of the day, everyone is trying to figure life out.

My film shows a teen girl struggling with the idea of sharing how much she loves her step-mother. She’s not afraid to tell her, but afraid of the response she would get back, what if this person she sees as her mother cannot think or say the same for this child she had adopted into her life? Instead of speaking with words, she writes what she feels. The weight of unspoken words affects their self-identity and whether they should even send this letter. This story highlights the challenges of being honest with the ones you love, inviting the audience to reflect on their own struggles with true communication.