Name: Artima Sakulkoo⠀
Born: Bangkok, Thailand
Lives: Based in New York City l Young Female Filmmaker Immigrated from Thailand to the States⠀
Handle: @dollartima
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I’m sure 2020 has affected each one of us in different ways. As for me, I graduated with a BFA in filmmaking in 2019. And as an international student, I had a year of OPT, which is a year of working experience. 2020 was supposed to be my first year as an official adult. I did have an opportunity to work with a production company and later on as a videographer for a stock footage website. Things went smoothly for a couple months until I found out that my mother was diagnosed with cancer. I had to drop everything and go back to Thailand immediately. I had a chance to be with her for a day before she passed.
I left Thailand back in 2016 and haven’t been back. Not only do I have to accept the fact that my mother is now gone, but I also have to deal with the traditional culture that I am not familiar with. And yes – Thailand is my homeland, but I’m a liberal young woman.
I believe in voices. Voices that are shouting for human rights. Voices that stand for people who can’t. Regardless of the generation gaps. And I think Thailand has not gotten to that point compared to the U.S. Grief and loss is the most common experience in our human lives. It took me a couple months to realize I have to keep chasing my dream. Because that’s what my mother would have told me. And so with that, my journey of immigrating to the U.S hasn’t ended. I’m going back at the beginning of next year to NY for my graduate school and hopefully work opportunities.⠀
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Nothing makes me feel better than the fact that I am a woman of color, a minority, an immigrant, AND a part of the LGBTQ+ community. The sooner you discover the uniqueness of yourself, the sooner you will find the best version of yourself.
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We define our own womanhood as women, as our own individual. There’s the power of being different, being women of color. Embrace it. Don’t let that take away from you.
