The Life of Awkwafina

She just became the first Asian woman to win a Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy or musical film. This is Awkwafina.

Transcript

00:00Representation matters. You got to have it and it helps. It's a privilege to be

00:04represented in the media. So when you feel that, it really matters and it's powerful.

00:31I guess I discovered a whole other side of something that I never knew existed

00:36but it all really stemming from thinking about my grandma. That's really

00:40really what it was. So it's very real. It was a very real role for me.

01:00I think a lot of children of immigrants in this country do. We are raised to feel

01:09very American and when we go back, we're told that you don't

01:14belong here. When you go back to where you belong, you also feel like a stranger

01:18there and it's a constant feeling of being lost in translation.

01:30Going beyond the scope of Asian-Americans, which are very

01:58underrepresented, I think this movie will open up the doors for everyone, for more

02:02films like this, for inclusion in general. I think that any movie like this will

02:07help any kind of underrepresented minority group.

02:19You can't not acknowledge that there's been incredible work done by females

02:24behind and in front of the scenes this year. Some of my favorite movies this year

02:27Booksmart were directed by women and I think that's

02:32important to recognize that. But at the same time, it's like you don't

02:38know and clearly there's still more work to be done.

02:41I knew that this material was so close to me and that I related to Billy, I

02:58felt Billy and then that was why I needed to do it.

03:01I hope that the Asian-American audience feels proud. You know, I know a lot of

03:14Asian-Americans have come out of screenings, they have this

03:18urge to cry and they don't know exactly why. This movie is for them. It's going to

03:23really add to this whole movement of telling more unique stories, telling

03:27stories of minorities.