What’s My Name? | Trailer
2026, 8 minutes and 9 seconds, screener of the film is available upon request
Do you keep your name or change your name when immigrating to another country? My Chinese name is difficult to pronounce even for my closest friends in America. This film is a playful exploration of their many attempts to get it right, of cross-cultural identity, and of the nuances of language. Beginning with the simple directive—What’s my name?, I document our conversations around the importance of a name and its declaration of ethnicity.
As an artist and filmmaker working at the intersection of culture, migration, and belonging, I strive to reveal broader truths about who we are and what it means to cohabit as a fractured collective. What’s My Name? continues my ongoing exploration of how geography, allegiance, and language shape our sense of self and our understanding of one another.
“My Chinese name is very unusual. For the entire time I have lived in America, my name has constantly been mispronounced, even by my closest friends. At one point, I thought about changing my name, and that idea resurfaced recently as I was going through paperwork for my permanent residency (when translated literally to Chinese, my green card category is “alien with super powers”.) The idea of changing my name pushed me into a fundamental dilemma: do I care more about the ease of fitting in with a new American name or the authenticity of keeping my Chinese name? I know that people here will forever struggle to pronounce my name, but I’d be giving up part of myself if I changed it. It’s a difficult choice.
I began making “What’s My Name?” to ask if my friends could help me solve this dilemma, but their sincerity and care made it clear that my sense of belonging is not confined by the pronunciation of my name (nor by the alienating labels given to immigrants like myself).” - Yuge Zhou