Try Harder!

Directed By Debbie Lum
Unscripted Feature Documentary

Seniors at one the best public high schools in the country face the pressure of applying to elite colleges.

  • ABOUT
  • BIO
TRY HARDER! is available now to rent or buy on Amazon, AppleTV (iTunes) and more! At Lowell High School, the top public high school in San Francisco, the seniors are stressed out. 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. 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. 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.
Debbie Lum is an award-winning, San Francisco-based filmmaker whose projects give voice to the Asian American experience and other unsung stories. Her last film, SEEKING ASIAN FEMALE premiered at SXSW in documentary competition, was featured on This American Life, and is a perennial “fan favorite” of PBS’s Independent Lens series. For years she worked as a documentary editor; credits include A.K.A Don Bonus (winner national Emmy) and Kelly Loves Tony (nominated for Best Documentary by the IDA), which she also co-produced, among others. She also wrote and directed several short comedies, Chinese Beauty, A Great Deal!, and One April Morning. A mother of three, she is currently producing two documentaries that explore Asian Americans’ fixation on higher education: MY TIGER MOM and THE APPLICANTS.

You Might Also Be Interested In

A Classy Broad

In 1974 Marcia Nasatir made history by becoming the first woman vice-president at United Artists. 'A CLASSY BROAD' tells the…

The Brain That Sings

The Brain that Sings follows the lives of six year old Khalifa and eighteen year old Mohammed, two boys with…

Stray

The world of Zeytin, a stray dog living life on the streets of Istanbul.

For the Love of Rutland

Rutland, Vermont, once a prosperous American town, is now ravaged by drugs, poverty, and a diminishing population. When the mayor…