CONFETTI begins in a small town in China, where young Meimei (Harmonie He) is having trouble in school. She doesn't seem to be able to read or write, but her American teacher, Thomas (George C. Tronsrue), recognizes that she's quite clever. He intuits that Meimei has dyslexia and needs to attend a special school that can teach her in the way she needs. Such schools are rare in China, so Meimei's mother, Lan Chen (Zhu Zhu), makes the hard decision to look for schools in the United States. Thomas calls in a favor with writer Helen McClellan (Amy Irving) so that Lan Chen and Meimei will have a place to stay in New York. But their struggle is just beginning, as Lan Chen doesn't speak any English, and special schools require expensive tests. And then there are wait lists. But, harboring a painful secret from her own childhood, Lan Chen is determined not to give up on her daughter.
