Erica is a fifth-generation Chinese American director based out of Los Angeles. Her film “Americanized” based on her experiences playing high school basketball has taken home 25 awards including Palm Springs International ShortFest, Bentonville Film Festival, and the Oscar-qualifying award at Cinequest. Erica’s love for film started at a young age with her love for TV and cartoons blossoming into a curiosity which was nurtured through her school eventually leading her to work at local a local tv station; where she learned cinematography opening her eyes up to the world of film and eventually set her on her path to becoming a music video director. She discusses the challenges she faced as a woman in film school and the film industry and how she overcame those challenges. She talks about how her film about her life stories as a Chinese American now has a place in the industry due to the new found appreciation of Asian American films such as Crazy Rich Asian and The Farewell. More so, the lack of work as a director is what motivated her to be the one moving her career forward and we get to learn a lot more about how she was able to develop this breakthrough film.