MOCA x NYAFF Film Club: American Girl

MOCA x NYAFF Film Club is a quarterly program celebrating the brilliance and boldness of Asian and Asian American cinema. This series highlights films of historic and cultural significance under the theme Margin, spotlighting daring films that challenge the norm, rewrite narratives, and push boundaries. 

AMERICAN GIRL follows 13-year-old Fen, who is forced to move from Los Angeles back to Taipei with her mother and younger sister after her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer. Set during the 2003 SARS outbreak, Fen struggles to adapt to life in Taiwan—feeling like an outsider at school, reconnecting with her estranged father, and clashing with her mother. As tensions at home intensify and Fen acts out in rebellion, a health scare involving her younger sister pushes the family toward a long-overdue emotional confrontation.