Renee Tajima-Peña’s irreverent search for Asian American identity, filmed on the cusp of the new millennium, is a prologue to her 2020 docuseries Asian Americans.

The feature documentary, My America…or Honk if You Love Buddha, is a rollicking ride across the changing terrain of American culture that recaptures the spirit of Jack Kerouac's On the Road, Asian American style. 

In the film, Tajima-Peña recalls her childhood, back in the days when her vacationing family crossed five state lines without ever seeing another Asian face. She hits the road once again to explore just how much the racial and cultural landscape of America has been transformed by new immigration and demographic change. Driving coast-to-coast, she seeks out what it means to be Asian American in our rapidly-changing society and comes across an eclectic group of offbeat and distinctive people. Featuring legendary activist Yuri Kochiyama, iconoclast actor and photojournalist Victor Wong, the Burtanog sisters of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, the Seoul Brothers rappers in Seattle, and more. Directed and produced by Renee Tajima-Peña, produced by Quynh Thai in association with the Center for Asian American Media.

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