The film is centered around Lum's perspective as a Chinese American woman, who document's the journey and serves as translator.
[6][7] The project was originally conceived due to Lum's interest in the real life complexities behind the yellow fever phenomenon.
[4] In 2002, she was developing a screenplay about a character with yellow fever and conducted research by interviewing people from Craigslist who posted ads seeking Asian women.
She and media strategist Maikiko James later developed the web series and online forum They're All So Beautiful (theyreallsobeautiful.com), looking to engage further discussion around interracial dating and Asian fetish.
The companion project to Seeking Asian Female received input from fashion Henry Lau and academics such as Elaine H. Kim and Celine Parreñas Shimizu.
made its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, which was held virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.