Honoring 100 Years of Chinese-American Women in Film: Nov. 10 at The Seattle Public Library
release date: October 31, 2017
Travel through a century of film in one afternoon at The Seattle Public Library. Watch three films celebrating Chinese-American women in film, followed by a Q&A with filmmakers Arthur Dong and Robin Lung. The screening will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 10 at the Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium, 206-386-4636.
Library events are free and everyone is welcome. Registration is not required. Parking is available in the Central Library garage at the regular rates.
The films will be shown in order from oldest to newest:
"The Curse of Quon Gwon" (1916-17), 35 minutes, unrated. This film is the earliest example of Asian-American filmmaking. Written and directed by Marion Wong, it's also one of the few American silent feature films made by a woman.
"Sewing Woman" (1982), 14 minutes, unrated. This biopic is based on a series of oral histories and the life story of the filmmaker Arthur Dong's mother, Zem Ping Dong, an immigrant who has worked in San Francisco garment factories for over 30 years.
"Finding Kukan" (2016), 75 minutes, unrated. Filmmaker Robin Lung turns detective to uncover the forgotten story of Li Ling-Ai, the uncredited female producer of "Kukan" (1941), an Academy Award-winning color documentary about World War II China that has been lost for decades.
Dong is a producer, director, writer, editor and distributor of documentaries for over 35 years. His films about Chinese America include "Sewing Woman," "Forbidden City, U.S.A." and "Hollywood Chinese." His films on LGBTQ issues include "Licensed to Kill," "Coming Under Fire" and "Family Fundamentals." Dong's latest film, "The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor," launched on PBS in 2016.
Lung made her directorial debut with "Washington Place: Hawaii's First Home," a 30-minute film about Hawaii's historic governor's mansion and home of Queen Lili'uokalani. She was the associate producer for "Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority," Hawaii unit producer for "Vivan Las Antipodas!," and unit producer for NOVA's "Killer Typhoon." In 2015, she was a documentary fellow at The National Association of Latino Independent Producers' (NALIP) filmmaker residency.