Filmmaker and author Arthur Dong kicked off UCLA’s “Yellow Peril’s Revenge: Asian American Independent Cinema” lecture/screening series on April 8, 2020. With Covid-19 Safer-at-Home directives in place, the session was conducted via Zoom, as illustrated below by Angel Trazo, one of some 60 students who logged in.
Filmmaker Arthur Dong’s pioneering work over the past forty years was featured in the Spring issue of Film Quarterly in their special dossier on Asian American film. Download Dong’s interview by Oliver Wang here.
Due to Covid-19 pre-cautions and regulations, our Spring 2020 Hollywood Chinese book events scheduled for March, April, and May have been cancelled. We hope to re-book these events in the future.
Screening Reality: How Documentary Filmmakers Re-imagined America, Jon Wilkman’s comprehensive book chronicling the history of documentaries, included a profile and discussion on Arthur Dong’s films that covered Asian American and LGBTQ stories. In her review of the book for Documentary Magazine, Cynthia Close notes: “The fearless portrayals of the LGTBQ community from Marlon T. Riggs and Arthur Dong are yet another example of the growing acceptance of certain subjects unheard of in the not-so-distant past.” Pictured below is a page from the book featuring Dong and cinematographer Stephen Lighthill on the set of Coming Out Under Fire.
“Put on some music from the 1930s and 1940s, and step into the intoxicating and magical world of the Chinese American nightclub scene. Enjoy!” –Lisa See
Forbidden City, USA reveals stories of sassy and daring entertainers from a golden era of Chinatown nightclubs in San Francisco Chinatown. Inspiring personal journeys and stunning images of Asian American performers who defied barriers to pursue showbiz dreams — now in print, VOD and DVD. Winner: the American Book Award.
