San Francisco’s Lowell High, one of the best public schools in the country, draws high achievers--nearly 70% Asian Americans--from across the city into a fiercely competitive universe. The camera follows seniors through the hallways and into classrooms as the pressure intensifies to impress admissions officers at elite universities with their report cards, test scores, and overall awesomeness. The students proudly own their identity as nerds and tell their stories with candor and humor despite the stress. Will they achieve their dreams? What happens if they fail?
Try Harder!, directed by Debbie Lum '91, premiered at Sundance in January 2021. The film follows five seniors at San Francisco's Lowell High School through the college application process.
As they prepare for the emotionally draining college application process, students are keenly aware of the intense competition for the few open spots in their dream colleges. They scrutinize how every element of their application, from their classes to their extracurricular activities to their racial identities, might be read by admission officers.
At Lowell—where cool kids are nerds, nearly everyone has an amazing talent, and the majority of the student body is Asian American—the things that usually make a person stand out can feel not good enough, even commonplace. With humor and heart, director Debbie Lum takes us to the reality of the American college application process and the intersection of class, race, and educational opportunity as experienced by high school seniors living through it. Try Harder! is a portrait of young adults in the most diverse American generation ever as they navigate a quintessential rite of passage and make it their own.
This event will feature a virtual discussion following the initial online film screening on 9/1 with education and mental health experts TBA, and the discussion and film will be available for a five day streaming window in case you can't make it to opening night.
Presented by the Brown Club of Greater San Francisco and the Center for Asian American Media.
“There are multiple documentaries at Sundance this year that focus on the teenagers of America...The best of the three is a personality-driven piece called “Try Harder!”
Brian Tallerico | RogerEbert.com
“Has the warmth and heart of a film like ‘Spellbound,’ but also manages to be fitfully triggering for anyone who’s gone through the senior year rigamarole... impossible to resist.”
Ryan Lattanzio | Indiewire
“Debbie Lum’s simultaneously charming and chastening documentary...takes its cue from its lovable, dorky, high- achieving subjects and mostly remains in a cheerful register, heroizing a group rarely celebrated in high school movies: the good kids.”
Jessica Kiang | VARIETY
“An engaging documentary, at the top of its class...”
Randy Myers | The Mercury News