"THE HOLLYWOOD CHINESE FILM SERIES" AT THE EGYPTIAN THEATER HAS BEEN CANCELLED

Please visit our Screenings page for information about current Hollywood Chinese showings.

ARTHUR DONG TO RECEIVE HISTORYMAKER AWARD

The Los Angeles-based Chinese American Museum has selected Arthur Dong for its Excellence in Film Historymaker Award. Scheduled for September 7,2008, CAM’s annual Historymakers Awards Banquet honors those who have made an impact on the Chinese American Community. For more information, please visit www.camla.org

INVESTING IN ARTISTS GRANT

The Center for Cultural Innovation awarded an Investing in Artists grants to Arthur Dong.Launched in June 2007, the Investing in Artists grants program is uniquely designed to enhance the working lives and creative environment for California artists by funding tools and market strategies that will allow them to create their best work more consistently, and distribute that work more broadly to new audiences. For more information, please visit www.cciarts.org

THE CURSE OF QUON GWON DAY

April 12, 2008 has been proclaimed "The Curse of Quon Gwon Day" by the Mayor's Office of Oakland to honor the historic 1917 film, The Curse of Quon Gwon, produced and shot in Oakland. The proclamation will be presented to surviving family members of the original filmmakers who will be in attendance at the Grand Lake Theater, April 12, at the 7:15pm screening of Hollywood Chinese.

SCENES FROM HOLLYWOOD CHINESE

Arthur Dong, filmmaker and 2007 SF State University Alumnus of the Year, will present clips from his latest documentary, Hollywood Chinese, on April 10, 8pm, at San Francisco State University, August Coppola Theatre (Fine Arts building). The event is free and sponsored by the Cinema Department, College of Creative Arts, Asian American Studies Department and College of Ethnic Studies. Call 415/338-1629 for more information.

ARTHUR DONG VISITING ARTIST IN HONG KONG

As part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Visiting Artist Program, filmmaker Arthur Dong will visit Hong Kong in March 2008 to lecture and screen his latest documentary, Hollywood Chinese. Stops are scheduled at the Hong Kong International Film Festival (www.hkiff.org.hk), and the University of Hong Kong (www.hku.hk) (lecture only).

Dong’s visit was also underwritten by the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong.

“HOLLYWOOD CHINESE” WINS GOLDEN HORSE AWARD

HOLLYWOOD CHINESE captured the Best Documentary Award at the Golden Horse Awards on December 8, 2007. Considered the Chinese equivalent of the Oscars®,” The Golden Horse Awards are the most prestigious honors in Asia for Chinese-language cinema, covering categories modeled after those for the Academy Awards®. Although HOLLYWOOD CHINESE is not technically a Chinese-language film, its subject matter, cast, and crew qualified it for awards consideration. The feature-length film was also screened as one of two opening night films at the 44th Golden Horse International Film Festival that culminated in the star-studded awards ceremony.

HOLLYWOOD CHINESE director Arthur Dong comments: “My experience at the Golden Horse events was extraordinary. To begin with, to be the first documentary ever selected to open the festival was a strong message to Asia and Chinese-speaking audiences that documentaries are a genre that’s not only important but also entertaining. And then, for jurors to recognize a Chinese American production with an award for films traditionally from Asia was an honor that I’m personally proud of -- I’ve known about the Golden Horse since I was a kid growing up in San Francisco Chinatown and never imagined I’d actually receive one myself!”

For a complete list of Golden Horse winners, please visit www.goldenhorse.org.tw/gh_main/gh/gh-e-5.aspx

HOLLYWOOD CHINESE TO OPEN TAIPEI GOLDEN HORSE FILM FESTIVAL

Hollywood Chinese has been invited as an opening night film of the 44th Golden Horse Film Festival in Taipei, Taiwan. This is the first time ever that a documentary has been selected to kick-off this major Asian festival and takes place November 23, along with the other opening night film, Tso-Chi Chang’s Butterfly. Filmmaker Arthur Dong will be in attendance.

For more information, please visit www.goldenhorse.org.tw/gh_main

VOICINGS: LICENSED TO KILL

Voicings 2008 presents a special screening of Licensed to Kill to be followed by a discussion with filmmaker Arthur Dong. Sponsored by Minnesota’s St. Cloud State University, Voicings 2008 is a combination fine arts festival and scholarly symposium that explores the social ramifications of language. The program is free and open to the public and scheduled for April 8, 7pm at the Paramount Theatre. For more information, please visit www.stcloudstate.edu/voicings

DURFEE FOUNDATION AWARD

Hollywood Chinese received an Artists’ Resource for Completion grant to assist final post production sound. The goal of the ARC program is to enhance the careers of Los Angeles artists by enabling them to take the best advantage of imminent opportunities to present their work, thereby fostering a climate of optimism in the Los Angeles arts community.

For more information, please visit www.durfee.org

DIALOGUE: FLOWER DRUM SONG

The 2007 Toronto International Film Festival has invited filmmaker Arthur Dong to participate in their Dialogues section, where directors present and discuss a film of their choice. Dong selected Flower Drum Song and Nancy Kwan will also attend under the sponsorship of the Visiting Artist Program at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. This program is scheduled for Sept 8 (date subject to change). Dong will also be presenting his newest film, Hollywood Chinese, at the festival.

For more information, please visit www.tiff07.ca

FORD FOUNDATION GRANT AWARDED

The Ford Foundation awarded Hollywood Chinese a post-production grant, including funds for a 35mm film print. The grant was approved by the Media, Arts and Culture unit, which seeks to strengthen the arts and media as important contributors to the communities and societies in which they function,

For more information, please visit www.fordfound.org

HENRY HAMPTON AWARD

Hollywood Chinese has been awarded the Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film & Digital Media by the Council on Foundations. The prize celebrates film and video projects funded partially or wholly by foundations, and will be presented at the Council on Foundation’s Film & Video Festival in May 2008. This festival is held in conjunction with COF’s annual conference where foundation leaders from every corner of philanthropy gather.

For more information, please visit www.cof.org/Network/summit/videoFestivalSchedule.cfm

mPRm JOINS HOLLYWOOD CHINESE TEAM

DeepFocus Productions has retained mPRm Public Relations to handle publicity for the launch of Hollywood Chinese at the Toronto International Film Festival. The Los Angeles based firm specializes in helping a wide range of films break into the national dialogue and has mounted campaigns for films like Brokeback Mountain, March of the Penguin, Boys Don’t Cry, Shine and many others.

Press contact for Hollywood Chinese at the Toronto International Film Festival: Alice Zou, 323/933-3399 x 4248, azou@mprm.com

For more information on mPRm Public Relations, please visit www.mprm.com

THE VIEW FROM HERE

In the book, The View from Here: Conversations with Gay and Lesbian Filmmakers, directors and screenwriters speak passionately about the medium. Author Matthew Hays interviews 37 influential filmmakers, including John Waters, Pedro Amodovar, Gus Van Sant, Rosa Von Prauheim, Greg Araki, and Arthur Dong. The Advocate raves: “ What's not to love about a film book with Divine in a red dress on the cover?”

For more information, please click here.

The Curse of Quon Gwon, the earliest known feature film produced by Chinese Americans in 1916-17, has been selected by the National Film Preservation Board for the National Film Registry. The two surviving nitrate reels were brought to the attention of filmmaker Arthur Dong while conducting research for his Hollywood Chinese documentary, and as a result, were subsequently preserved by the Academy Film Archive.

For more information about The Curse of Quon Gwon, please click here.

SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY SELECTS ARTHUR DONG FOR DOUBLE HONORS: ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR & HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE

Filmmaker Arthur Dong has been selected for double honors this year by his ala mater, San Francisco State University. At a campus ceremony on May 25, 2007, Dong will first be inducted into the SF State Alumni Hall of Fame, which recognizes alumni who have earned the respect of their peers through professional, cultural and civic achievements.

On May 26, 2007, Dong, a summa cum laude film graduate (1982), will receive the SFSU Alumnus of the Year award during the university’s 106th Commencement where he will address a crowd of 20,000. The Alumnus/a of the Year award goes to former students who have gained recognition for significant contributions to their field of work.

For more information, please visit the SFSU website, www.sfsu.edu.

INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION SALES REP FOR HOLLYWOOD CHINESE

DeepFocus Productions, Inc. and Louise Rosen, Ltd. have reached an agreement for LRL to represent Hollywood Chinese in foreign television sales outside the U.S. From the beginning, LRL has developed a reputation for representing strong history and social issue films, as well as incisive cultural documentaries.

For more information, please visit the LRL website, www.louiserosenltd.com.

FAIR USE PROJECT FOR DOCUMENTARIANS LAUNCHED

The Fair Use Project of the Center for Internet & Society at Stanford Law School announced that it has teamed with Media/Professional Insurance and leading intellectual property attorney Michael Donaldson to provide critical support for documentary filmmakers who rely on the “fair use” of copyrighted material in their films. The initiative will be guided by an advisory board that includes documentary filmmakers Kirby Dick, Davis Guggenheim, Arthur Dong and Haskell Wexler; professors Peter Jaszi and Lawrence Lessig; and intellectual property attorneys Michael Donaldson and Anthony Falzone.

For more information, click here.

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES: LOVE, SEX, AND WORLD WAR II

Thanks for the Memories: Love, Sex, and World War II, a new book by Jane Mersky Leder, exposes the sexual and romantic escapades of “The Greatest Generation.” Featuring stories and photographs from Arthur Dong’s documentary, Coming Out Under Fire, it covers World War II as a time of sexual experimentation and a general loosening of morals.

For more information, please click here.

A NEW HISTORY OF DOCUMENTARY FILM

Betsy McLane and Jack Ellis’ book, A New History of Documentary Film, is a lively guide to the documentary and it’s history. A comprehensive survey of the genre, including a segment on filmmaker Arthur Dong, “This thoughtful appraisal will be useful to students as well as moviegoers who want to learn more about the history of nonfiction filmmaking” -- Leonard Maltin.

For more information, please click here.

DOCUMENTING GAY MEN

“Documenting Gay Men,” a new book by Christopher Pullen, charts an evolution in gay identity within American reality television and documentary film. Productions like Family Fundamentals, An American Family, Tongues United, Silverlake Life, and many others, explore how gay people as teens, devoted couples, parents, inspiring individuals and influential producers have contributed to the progression of gay identity in domestic arenas.

For more information, click here.

INDEPENDENT FILM DISTRIBUTION

Independent Film Distribution, a new book by Phil Hall, is an insider’s view to the world of independent film distribution. Insider tips include those from such independent filmmakers as Mark Cuban, Hal Hartley, Eric Byler, Christopher Munch, and Oscar-nominated filmmakers, Kirby Dick, Arthur Dong, and Bill Plympton.

For more information, click here.