TRANSNATIONAL THIRD CULTURE KID FILMMAKERS
CULTURS – I understand that some of your recent successes is: “Americanish” and “The Garden Left Behind.” What has that been like? WOL – Life changing. With “The Garden Left Behind,” we told a family drama about an undocumented Mexican trans woman which won at SXSW at its world premiere. The film not only got named as one of the top 40 best LGBTQ films of all times by Rotten Tomatoes editorial, certified fresh; it also provided jobs to 48 people from the trans community. I made so many friends through this film and the impact was both critical and personal. With “Americanish,” we told the first American-Muslim romcom by diverse AmericanMuslim women. The film somehow reached several communities in the USA from the entire Asian-American audience circuit to African-American audiences. The film also created impact both behind and in front of the camera. As a TCK, I am proud to say both of these feature fiction films were the first of their kinds and made history. With our production company Studio Autonomous, which has a global cross-cultural think tank, the first
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Spring 2022 | www.CultursMag.com
