The Curse of Quon Gwon, the earliest known feature film produced by Chinese Americans in 1916-17, has been selected by the Library of Congress 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. The world premiere of the restored film will be presented in conjunction with the premiere of Hollywood Chinese, which includes a segment on The Curse of Quon Gwon, at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival in March 2007.

For more information about the National Film Registry, please visit: www.loc.gov/film and www.loc.gov/today/pr/2006/06-234.html

For more information about Hollywood Chinese, please click here.

CHOP SUEY ON WAX: THE FLOWER DRUM SONG ALBUM

The Chinese Historical Society Museum in San Francisco presents a special exhibition featuring filmmaker Arthur Dong’s collection of Flower Drum Song record albums dating from the 1950s to the 1960s. The 42 albums on display range from budget-label “quickies” to sophisticated jazz renditions. “This collection represents a unique aural and visual chronicle of a phenomenon that touched a generation of artists and listeners during a brief period of American pop culture history,” according to Dong. Visitors will have the opportunity to view the collection, hear selected LPs at listening stations, and watch the film version of the musical in a period 1960s “living room” setting. Exhibition dates are August 29 – December 17, 2006.

For more information, please visit www.chsa.org.

Filmmaker Arthur Dong has been selected for the 2006 Vancouver Queer Film Festival’s inaugural FilmForward Director’s Spotlight. Dong will present a program of clips from his past and current films on August 25, as well as conduct a master class on August 26.

For information on the film presentation, please visit: www.outonscreen.com/festival/2006/viewshowtime.php?stid=119

For information on the master class, please visit: www.outonscreen.com/festival/2006/viewshowtime.php?stid=96

Hollywood Chinese will be the first comprehensive full-length documentary exploring the Chinese in American feature films, from the 1900s to present day. Be a part of this historic new film with a tax-deductible donation (to the extent allowed by law). Amounts from $100 to $80,000 have been received from private individuals as well as the National Endowment for the Arts, the California Council for the Humanities, the Independent Television Service, the Center for Asian American Media, the National Video Resources, and the Gee Family Foundation. The film is sponsored by the Film Arts Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization based in San Francisco.

To make a tax-deductible donation with a credit card through an online secure server, please visit the Film Arts Foundation Fiscal Sponsorship page by clicking here, then scrolling down to Chinese in Hollywood. Or send your check made payable to: Film Arts Foundation/Chinese in Hollywood, 145 9th Street, #101, San Francisco, CA 94103 (make sure to write “Chinese in Hollywood” on your check).

For information on major underwriting opportunities, please email info@deepfocusproductions.com.

National Video Resources awarded Arthur Dong a 2006 Media Arts Fellowship. Given annually for the past 19 years, fellowships recognize the artistic excellence of film, video and new media artists in the United States. This is Dong’s second NVR Fellowship, which were formerly known as the Rockefeller Media Arts Fellowship.

For more information, please click here.

The 2006 Arts on Radio and Television Program of the National Endowment for the Arts has awarded its third grant to Hollywood Chinese. Arts on Radio and Television grants support the development, production, and national distribution of radio and television programs on the arts.

For more information about the NEA, please visit www.nea.gov.

Hollywood Chinese received a post-production grant from the Gee Family Foundation as part of its support for "Chinese-in-California" historical programs.

The 24th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival will spotlight legendary screen icon James Shigeta, the first—and arguably only—Asian American actor to be groomed as a romantic lead in Hollywood. In addition to a retrospective of selected films, Shigeta will be interviewed live onstage by filmmaker Arthur Dong, who also interviewed him for his new documentary-in-progress, Hollywood Chinese.

For more information, please visit www.asianamericanfilmfestival.org/films/shigeta_essay.php

Arthur Dong’s double-Sundance award winning film about killers of gay men, Licensed to Kill, is featured in Kenneth Turan’s Never Coming to a Theater Near You. Turan, Los Angeles Times and National Public Radio film critic, has collected more than 140 reviews of noteworthy films that may have slipped under most filmgoers’ radar in his newly published book. “If this is indeed a documentary golden age, that’s good news for everyone who believes that the truth will set you free.” –Kenneth Turan

Hollywood Chinese (working title) received a grant from the California Council for Humanities’ California Documentary Project. This CCH grants program is designed to encourage documentarians of the new millennium to create enduring images and text of contemporary California life. Funds will be used towards post-production and editing.

For more information about CCH, please visit www.calhum.org

For more information on Hollywood Chinese, please click here.

Arthur Dong has been appointed to represent the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on The National Film Preservation Board (NFPB). The NFPB serves as a public advisory group to the Librarian of Congress and, as its primary mission, works to ensure the survival, conservation and increased public availability of America's film heritage, including: advising the Librarian on the annual selection of films to the National Film Registry and counseling the Librarian on ongoing development and implementation of the national film preservation plan.

For more information, please visit: www.loc.gov/film

Production on Hollywood Chinese has been completed. Shot on location in London, Vienna, New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Berkeley, 16 interviews with stars, directors, writers, and cultural experts were conducted with filmmaker Arthur Dong at the helm. The project is now seeking underwriting for editing and post-production. Pictured, left-right: filmmaker Arthur Dong and cinematographer Hiroki Miyano. Photo by Jon Oh.

For more information on Hollywood Chinese, please click here.

Hollywood Chinese will be a multi-faceted look at American cinema through the lens of the Chinese American experience. Helmed by Oscar®-nominated and three-time Sundance award-winning filmmaker, Arthur Dong, this new feature length documentary will be a comprehensive look at the visual and social history of the Chinese in the Hollywood feature film, from the early 1900s up to present day. Interviews with key Hollywood figures will be combined with rare film clips, including excerpts from a recently discovered 1917 independently produced feature film by a Chinese American woman, as well as pop features like Flower Drum Song, to examine a fascinating chapter of American cinema history.

For more information, please click here.