Read the full transcript of Nam’s speech below:
Wow. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Kore Asian Media and James Ryu. You are a powerhouse, mate. You really are. Thank you to the staff and volunteers that make this special event so, so special.
I so love coming here to this event. It’s my favorite event to come to because it represents a community that I am so proud to call mine own. The idea of community is actually what I want to talk about tonight. For a long time, I thought I was a part of this community because of my race. I thought because I was Asian, or because I was Korean, that I felt a sense of belonging and identity. And this understanding comes from a sense of wanting to belong, of not wanting to be alone. But this event reminds me that we don’t have to fear that anymore.
Our strength comes from connecting with other brothers and sisters out there who see past the ways the industry has pit ourselves against one another. We are told there is only room for one Asian role, for one open ethnicity, only room for one token voice in the department, on the board, on the team, or behind the camera. This event proves that theory wrong because all of you have been pioneers in your own work spaces, in your schools, in your community. I am only here because you have all refused to accept these limitations. I have been given these opportunities because people like you have said to me, you know, this little guy from Australia, “Hey, come on, brother! Together we stand, man! Together we f-ckin’ stand, mate!”
I’m only here because organizations like Kore Asian Media have enlightened people and boldly embraced the worlds that mirror the world that is ever deeply and so beautifully more colored like the lives that we have. So I share this award with every person out there that has advocated for our brothers and sisters in our community, for those that have stood up and said, ‘One is not enough.’ I used to think being that one person on that poster of “The Perfect Score” was enough, and I think, ‘Well, what happens if there was another person? What happens if the girl was Asian? Would I not be there, too?’ I don’t know. I hope that changes.
I humbly accept this award on behalf of the dreamers out there that have helped create a community of artists like myself to represent your unspoken lives on screen. So here’s to a bigger and brighter future to us all. Thank you very much.
