If you want to support this project, make a connection, or collaborate, please reach out, or check out our fiscal sponsorship at Denver Film.
Independent Project
My Name Is Not Amy
Against the backdrop of the worst wildfire in Colorado history, a mixed-race Native Bornean filmmaker reflects on her transracial, transnational adoption into white suburban America, triggering an awakening that challenges memory, coloniality, and the adopted name she was given.
MY NAME IS NOT AMY explores indigeneity lost, then reclaimed, against a backdrop of climate change and social unrest demanding humanity to remember who we are, where we come from, and how we’re all connected. As unique as a transracial, transnational adoption story may seem, Dewi’s narrative reflects the stories of 94% of the global population of people who have lost connection to their ancestors, motherlands, and/or Indigenous knowledge and wisdom. This film aims to create a bridge between our perceived differences, and a safe space where those who are ready to do the work can do the work together.
DIRECTOR AND EDITOR: Dewi Sungai
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Jason Houston
MENTOR: John Van Wyck / Cine Fe
MUSIC: “After the Storm” by Kevin Richard Martin + Hatis Noit
WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM: Cine Fe, Studio IX Mother Project, BGDM, Kin Theory, Mountain Media Arts Collective, Film Fatales, Adoption Mosaic, Right Relationship Boulder, Lakota Way Healing Center, all of the Ancestors whose names we know and don’t know, Spirit Guides, Grandmother Earth, and our Medicine Family.
IMPACT
Equally as important as making this film is exploring the ways it can inspire important community conversations around not only adoption, but also inspire anyone to ask the questions: Who am I? Where do I come from? How did I get here? What in my story needs correcting, and how can I move forward in the truth?
To inspire these conversations, we’re developing an impact campaign that includes post-screening, audience-centered Q&As, panel discussions, and speaking engagements; participating in interviews and contributing media assets; leading community discussions; creating viewer guides and lesson plans for post-screening discussions, classes, and workshops; participating in thoughtfully curated film festivals; and ultimately, securing wide distribution. Producer Stephanie Sunata has committed to spearheading our impact and outreach.
We have 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsorship through Denver Film. Our greatest immediate need is funding to properly develop and implement the campaign. Contact us for more information on how you can support these important community conversations.
“As a transracial adoptee this film makes me feel seen. It is the first time I have encountered a piece of art that truly speaks to my experience as an Indigenous transracial adoptee. I hope more people are able to experience this gorgeous and meaningful film. ”
—Melissa, from a private screening at the Sie Film Center in Denver, CO
SCREENINGS & EVENTS
2026.10.09: [margins.] Storytelling Festival
2026.09.20: “Forging Our Own Way in the Industry” Denver Film Forum
2026.04.18: The Prelude: An Earth Day Film Event
2025.10.12: Buffalo International Film Festival (Winner Best Documentary Short)
2025.06.21: Adult Adoptee Network of Ontario (private screening)
2025.05.17: The Collective Community Art Center, Lafayette, CO (public + adoptee-only)
2025.04.05: Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival, Flagstaff, AZ
2025.03.16: Dragon Boat Film Festival, Denver, CO
2024.11.25: Adoption Mosaic: Better Together (private screening)
2024.11.17: Decolonizing Adoption & Creative Resistance
2024.11.06 & 2024.11.07: Denver Film Festival
2024.11.02: Rocky Mountain Reels: Climate Change in Colorado Cinema
2024.10.31: Adoption Mosaic: Better Together (private screening)
REQUEST A SCREENING
Support our Impact Campaign
We have 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsorship through Denver Film. Our greatest immediate need is funding to properly develop and implement our Impact Campaign. Contact us for more information on how you can host and support these important community conversations.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
As a mixed-race Native Bornean transracial and transnational adoptee, my identity has been simultaneously dictated and misunderstood by my white adoptive community for most of my life. MY NAME IS NOT AMY reclaims my story for myself. It may seem unique, but this narrative reflects 94% of the global population of people who have lost connection to their ancestors, motherlands, and/or Indigenous knowledge of how to live sustainably on this planet. I chose a path to decolonize and indigenize myself... anyone can follow.
Artistically, this film pushes the boundaries of our previous works, edging away from traditional documentary towards creative nonfiction. We are not relying solely on information and facts to change minds. We are appealing to hearts, spirit, and subconscious with verité and visceral editing that triggers feelings of truth and personal liberation in the body.
Jason and I feel an incredible responsibility to create art in response to what we see and experience, in service of our own healing, community building, and others’ rights to heal. Ultimately, MY NAME IS NOT AMY aims to create a bridge between our perceived differences, and a safe space where those who are ready to do the work can do the work together.
“There’s a force in this world that wants us to forget who we are. We can’t let it.”
—Dewi, in MY NAME IS NOT AMY
still frame: MAKIA MINICH