He Knows This Place: Film Screening and Discussion

This event took place on November 24th, 2025 and was hosted in person at the Mortara Center for International Studies Conference Room.

Educated in Kenya and the founder of a non-profit organization in a Nairobi informal settlement, 23-year-old Liu Yi Meng Han is not like most of the thousands of Chinese nationals who live in Kenya. While relationships between Meng Han and his colleagues are flourishing, suspicion and resentment against Chinese nationals begin to rise throughout Nairobi. When his mother encourages him to attend graduate school abroad, Meng Han finds himself at the crossroads of his attachment to a country he loves and an uncertain future. This intimate short documentary delves into themes of belonging, identity, race, and the notion of home, evoking new questions about the Chinese diaspora in Kenya through the experiences of a young man caught between two worlds.

This event was co-sponsored by Georgetown University’s Africa-China Initiative and Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues.

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Melissa Lefkowitz is a New York City-based filmmaker and sociocultural anthropologist. Since 2010, her research and film work have explored many facets of contemporary Africa-China relations, with a focus on transnational connection and fissure, media, racism and racialization, and the production of social imaginaries. Her previous film, CHINA REMIX, a short documentary co-directed with Dorian Carli-Jones about Nigerian and Ugandan musical artists who live and work in Guangzhou, China, received distribution and screened globally in festivals such as the African Diaspora International Film Festival, Africa World Documentary Film Festival, and Margaret Mead Film Festival. She holds BA and PhD degrees from NYU, and an MA in East Asian Studies from Harvard University.