The hells of the high-pressure college application process are headed to the screen. Greenwich Entertainment has snagged North American distribution rights to “Try Harder!,” Debbie Lum’s documentary about five students at a competitive high school and their college app quest. The film will be released December 3, Deadline announced.
“At Lowell — where cool kids are nerds, nearly everyone has an amazing talent, and most of the student body is Asian American — the things that usually make a person stand out can feel commonplace,” per “Try Harder!’s” synopsis. “With humor and heart, director Debbie Lum captures the reality of the American college application process and the intersection of class, race, and educational opportunity as young adults navigate a quintessential rite of passage.”
Lum also produced the film.
“I’m super excited to work with the Greenwich team,” the filmmaker stated. “They saw how important this story is for anyone who dreams of going to college or has kids dreaming of going to college. We’re thrilled they will help us get our film to as wide an audience as possible during the college admissions season because students everywhere need to talk about hopes and dreams — and the pressures that impact them.”
“Try Harder!” premiered at Sundance in January and went on to screen at AFI DOCS and Full Frame.
When we spoke to Lum about the doc, she told us, “In all the headlines-grabbing reports on the insanity of the college admissions process, the students who are at the heart of the story seem to be the last ones given a voice. Lowell High School, a San Francisco institution and the oldest public high school west of the Mississippi River, had never had a feature-length documentary about it. I couldn’t help think that, perhaps because Lowell has had a large or predominantly Asian American student body for decades, this might have something to do with it.”
She continued, “I went to a high school in America’s heartland, more reminiscent of ‘The Breakfast Club,’ where being Asian American meant being either an outcast or invisible. I was fascinated by a high school universe where being Asian American is the norm.” Lum added, “I’ve dedicated my filmmaking career to telling Asian American stories. I’m drawn to the untold, authentic stories, and this one really resonated for me.”
Lum previously directed “Seeking Asian Female” and edited “To You Sweetheart, Aloha” and “A.K.A. Don Bonus.”
Check out the trailer for “Try Harder!” below.
