In Holly M. Kaplan’s short film Sunflower Girl, little sisters can be a real pain in the a**. Rosie is a 13-year-old Chinese American girl who visits her mother after school at her dry-cleaning job. Rosie wants to goof off with her friends, but her mom tells her to grab a box of snacks from her sister, Amy, and, for heaven’s sake, to stop riding that skateboard.
On her way to meet her sister, Rosie runs into her best friend, Cooper, and her crush Skylar. When the two leave to get some junk food, Rosie offers the boys her sister’s snack. When Amy finally shows up, she is upset that her snacks are gone. Annoyed, Rosie goes off with Skylar to learn some new moves, while Amy decides to ride a skateboard for the first time…to disastrous results.

“Amy decides to ride a skateboard for the first time…to disastrous results.”
Sunflower Girl is a simple and sweet story about family and sisters. When the world passes you by, all you have is family.
Watching Sunflower Girl, two things immediately stand out. The first is the beautiful cinematography by Michael Cong, who shot the short on film, immersing us in a simpler time before cell phones existed. Second is this beautiful cast of young actors. As Rosie, Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja authentically portrays being precisely 13 years old—too old to be a child and too young to be an adult.
With its charming performances and nostalgic visuals, Sunflower Girl leaves you with a warm, lasting smile and reminds you to cherish the people who truly matter.