Twenty-year-old San Mateo resident Alex King was awarded a Gold Remi prize at the 44th Worldfest International Film Festival for his documentary “Born To Be Our Children.”

How did your personal history inform the subject choice of the film? I wanted to do something that was close to my heart. I was adopted from Romania when I was 5 years and 10 months old. I know that there are a lot of children in the world waiting to be adopted.

What do you think independent documentaries can accomplish that other films cannot? You can get both sides of a story and let the viewers decide from the information you put in the documentary. It highlights true human emotion. A documentary can help to change people’s opinions as well as lives. I feel that I can try to make changes in the world by getting information out to the public and governments.

Do you remember a particular moment that made you realize that you wanted to work in film? I walked into the KCSM studio and saw the film and lighting equipment. I knew then I wanted to work with this type of equipment. I went home and asked my parents if I could take some digital-media classes. I was lucky enough to have some great teachers, like professor [Michelle] Brown and Randy Tan, who inspired me.