Kit Zauhar’s first feature, ACTUAL PEOPLE is an adventurous anthropological study of the millennial and Gen Z species. In this boundary-pushing story about twentysomething womanhood, Riley, with clumsiness and frustration, is forced to confront escalating anxieties about her love life, family, and future as a biracial Asian American girl in her final week of college. Amidst a series of personal dramas and relationship fallouts, Riley wanders through the streets of New York at night, drifting through cozy and messy student apartments, participating in a melange of tipsy party conversations involving sex, politics, and race.

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Working with a $10k microbudget, this independent production surprises us with all-too-relatable conversations and witty banter, naturalistic performances from the director herself and her friends, and a level of raw, naked vulnerability that never crosses into self-indulgence or narcissism. ACTUAL PEOPLE is an Asian American woman’s mumblecore that gives voice to an up-and-coming generation, with a refreshing and daring filmmaking style that fits the growing pains of the protagonist as she navigates the hazy boundaries of adulthood, gender, and race.