She got a degree in biology at the University of California-Santa Cruz, but felt a tug for a life in art. Her family moved to Carmel in 1971 and Yang graduated from Carmel High School as valedictorian. It covers Yang”s development as an artist and writer, and how that was fueled by her rejection of her history, her past and her parents” values, then her rediscovery and embrace of all that. While “Hannah” ends with the successful quest for green cards, the film does not.
“But after seeing the film she felt it”s a good thing for kids who”ve grown up here, who ”belong here,” to see (because) they have no idea of the hardship people face.” One high school student who has seen it said “she had always felt embarrassed” because her parents have green cards, Rosen said. She and DeBono and Rosen think that the tale of the struggle to become “legal” will make an impact on people who see the film. “My parents could finally breathe,” she says. In the film, Yang, now 47, still savors the day that actually happened. Her father is humming, her mother doesn”t scold her for her wet shoes, pot stickers sizzle on the stove and a package with three green cards - which in reality are blue - has arrived. The wait, the desire, the dream of green cards - and the fear of living here without them - is the overarching theme of the “Hannah” book.įinally, one day when Hannah arrives home from school, things have changed.
Though Joseph had a student visa, the young Belle learned that to stay permanently, to have a chance at good jobs, they would need green cards, the tangible symbol of legal residency. Yang”s life story has some familiar themes: Trying to fit in during the early years, rebelling during the teen years, then setting out on a path of discovery that ultimately leads to an appreciation of the things shed and rebelled against in the early years. “We approached a subject normally done in an edgy way in a soft and gentle way,” Rosen said. It proved to be a good fit: A hot topic with a human face. Made by Monterey filmmakers and Terri DeBono and Steve Rosen, it brings to video pieces of the story Yang has captured in her books, especially the vividly illustrated children”s book “Hannah Is My Name.”Īt first, the filmmakers wanted to make a documentary about Yang as a painter and author, but potential funding sources and broadcasters pushed them toward the immigration angle. “My Name Is Belle,” the colorful story of the colorful artist and writer who lives in Carmel, begins airing on PBS stations on May 20.
Belle Yang”s immigration story is her story: Moving from Taiwan to San Francisco at age 7, learning a new language, struggling to fit in, living in fear of deportation until the coveted “green cards” finally arrive.īut, with variations, it”s also the story of millions of people who have come to America, and a pair of documentary filmmakers hope that universality translates in a new film about Yang”s life.
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