In Attendance: Joan Chen, Nancy Kwan, Amy Tan, Justin Lin, Lisa Lu, James Hong, Tsai Chin, Mai Lon,  Gittlesohn & Marcella Wong-Yasuhiro (daughters of Violet Wong, star of the 1916 film, “The Curse of Quon Gwon”), James Leong, Jr. (son of James B. Leong, producer/writer of the 1921 film, “Lotus Blossom”)

Moderator: Randy Haberkamp
Mr. Haberkamp is a film historian and founder of The Silent Society, a silent film preservation and appreciation group based in Los Angeles. He is probably most recognized by Southern Californian cinephiles as the insightful and popular master of ceremonies for public film programs presented at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, where he serves as Director of Educational Programs.


Produced, directed, written and edited by Academy Award nominee and triple Sundance award-winning filmmaker Arthur Dong (LICENSED TO KILL, COMING OUT UNDER FIRE, FORBIDDEN CITY, U,S.A.), HOLLYWOOD CHINESE presents 11 of the community’s most accomplished Chinese American film artists who share personal accounts of working in film.  

Ang Lee, Wayne Wang, Joan Chen, David Henry Hwang, Justin Lin, B.D. Wong, Nancy Kwan, Tsai Chin, Lisa Lu, James Hong, and Amy Tan are among the storytellers who have wrestled with being the “other” in Hollywood.  The film is punctuated with a dazzling treasure trove of clips from over 90 movies, dating from 1890s paper prints up to the current new wave of Asian American cinema.  During the documentary’s production, Dong remarkably discovered two nitrate reels of what is now thought to be the first Chinese American film ever made, THE CURSE OF THE QUON GWON (1916).  

At once humorous, maddening, and inspiring, the film weaves a rich and complicated tapestry, one marked by unforgettable performances and groundbreaking films, but also one tainted by a tangled history of race and representation.

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