Try Harder!
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Diana Salier presents the soundtrack for the documentary Try Harder!

Diana Salier presents the soundtrack for the documentary Try Harder!

The soundtrack is available digitally, March 26, 2021.

Try Harder! is directed by Debbie Lum

At Lowell High school, the top-ranked public high school in San Francisco, the seniors are stressed out.
As they prepare for the emotionally draining college application process, students are keenly aware of the intense competition for the few open spots in their dream colleges.
They scrutinize how every element of their application, from their classes to their extracurricular activities to their racial identities, might be read by admission officers. At Lowell—where cool kids are nerds, nearly everyone has an amazing talent, and the majority of the student body is Asian American—the things that usually make a person stand out can feel not good enough, even commonplace.
With humor and heart, director Debbie Lum takes us to the reality of the American college application process and the intersection of class, race, and educational opportunity as experienced by high school seniors living through it.
Try Harder! is a portrait of young adults in the most diverse American generation ever as they navigate a quintessential rite of passage and make it their own….

“Director Debbie Lum... allows their personalities to shine through, revealing how much a process that often turns kids into numbers and demographics can miss the true stories underneath… All of them are likable and open with Lum, a testament to her skill as a filmmaker and interviewer.”
Brian Tallerico, ROGEREBERT.COM

“Debbie Lum’s simultaneously charming and chastening documentary on the senior class in Lowell High...takes its cue from its lovable, dorky, high-achieving subjects... But underneath ...there is a darker point being made about the impossible cycle of heightened expectations, cultural stereotyping and ever-shrinking admissions quotas for top-flight colleges. The racial profile of the high-performance Lowell is not a coincidence, but nor is it an uncomplicated advantage for any attendee, Asian or otherwise.”
Jessica Kiang, VARIETY

“The bewildering issue of race in majority-minority schools, the cocooned bliss of being a nerd among nerds, the college-admissions beauty-pageant-cum-deathmatch, and what it takes to endure the self-esteem-decimating academic pressure cooker that is San Francisco’s top public high school are all interrogated. With humor and heart, the film brings you into the reality of the American college application process today through the lives of students surviving this archetypal rite of passage.”
Lisa Macabasco, TEEN VOGUE

More info at: Official Web Site