A tearful premiere, a Sundance sale and the stranger-than-fiction family drama behind Lulu Wang’s ‘The Farewell’

Awkwafina discusses her personal connection to the drama ”The Farewell” at the L.A. Times Studio at Chase Sapphire on Main. “‘Maybe the film will never get made!’” Awkwafina, left, and director-writer Lulu Wang teamed up on Sundance darling “The Farewell,” inspired by Wang’s own family. “When will I ever get an opportunity like this?” Awkwafina on ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ and the power of representation » Awkwafina grew close to the director and her family as they made the film in and around the actual neighborhood where Wang’s grandmother lived. “Ten years ago when people would say, ‘Make something in your voice – find your voice and I wouldn’t know how to do that,”’ Wang says. “She’s amazing,” says Wang, who also gave Little Nai Nai’s dog Ellen a cameo in the film.