Oakland, California... She's a straight-A student with dreams of college, he's trying to leave gang life behind. Together this young Iu Mien couple creates a video diary of their struggles with parenthood, jobs, school, family, and the law. Seventeen year-old Kelly Saeteurn has a dream -- she calls it her "American dream." As a fresh high school graduate on her way to college, she envisions a rosy future for herself. Kelly is the first in her family of Iu Mien refugees from Laos to have accomplished as much as she already has, but her dreams exist in sharp contrast to her reality. She is also pregnant. Her boyfriend Tony is a junior high drop out and ex-con. The brutal honesty of this film's footage and dialogue offers viewers a rare glimpse into the lives of two young people struggling to make their relationship work in the face of overwhelming obstacles like parenthood, gender issues and cultural and educational differences.

Video Diarists: Kane Ian "Kelly" Saeteurn and Nai "Tony" Saelio

Producer / Director: Spencer Nakasako

Producer / Editor: Debbie Lum

A production of the National Asian American Telecommunications Association
in association with the Independent Television Service,
with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Special thanks to the East Bay Asian Youth Center (EBAYC).

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