ARTHUR DONG DEEPFOCUS PRODUCTIONS ARCHIVE

This is an award that is given by other authors. exhibition, commissioned by the Japanese American National Museum for 2018.Ĭhang: What does it mean to you to receive The American Book Award for Forbidden City, USA: Chinatown Nightclubs, 1936-1970?ĭong: Unbeknownst to me, my distributor submitted the book to the American Book Awards. He’s also got a new job as a Distinguished Professor in Film, a newly created position at Loyola Marymount University, one of the top ten film schools in the country.īelow are excerpts of my interview with Dong on his recent trip to the East Coast. We talked about the American Book Award, the new hardcover edition, what it is like to be a father, his “iconic “ status, his new job, his love of teaching documentary filmmaking, showing the film in Cambodia, and his latest projects – a documentary about master tap dancers from the golden age of tap and a remount of his Forbidden City U.S.A. In October, Dong was honored as an icon in the Gay community for LGBT History Month, joining 31 other icons whose incredible achievements were highlighted here. Following the screening, join director Arthur Dong at the Centerpiece Reception. Veteran doc-maker Arthur Dong unspools Ngor’s phenomenal life with original animation, rare archival material and newly shot footage inspired by his autobiography Survival in the Killing Fields. He became such a powerful voice that specters of conspiracy still haunt his untimely 1996 death. Though he continued acting, Ngor retrained the spotlight on Cambodia, traveling worldwide to speak out against Pol Pot’s regime and the Vietnamese occupation of his country that followed. Ngor, the only Asian to win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar,for the heartrending role of Cambodian photographer Dith Pran in Roland Joffé’s 1984 film THE KILLING FIELDS.

ARTHUR DONG DEEPFOCUS PRODUCTIONS ARCHIVE

Ngor will be featured in the prestigious UCLA Film and Television Archive Documentary Spotlight in March and the CNEX Hong Kong Documentary Tour where it will be programmed along with his other films as part of their Director in Focus series.ĭr. Read more and view photo excerpts of the book here.ĭong’s new documentary The Killings Fields of Dr. Click here to purchase the book.Īrthur Dong shows off the new hardcover edition of Forbidden City, USA: Chinatown Nightclubs, 1936-1970. The book is now available in a deluxe hardcover edition. The result is a sexy and insightful exploration of a time when Asian Americans pushed against exploitation and racism-as well as expectations from within their own community-to pursue their dreams of working in show business. Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Arthur Dong spent thirty years interviewing the entertainers from this era, collecting hundreds of rare images and objects. Winner of the 2015 American Book Award, “Forbidden City, USA: Chinatown Nightclubs 1936-1970”, captures the magic and glamour of the Chinatown nightclub scene, which peaked in San Francisco during World War II. Arthur Dong receives the American Book Award from poet/playwright Genny Lim at the 36th Annual American Book Awards ceremony at the San Francisco Jazz Center on October 25, 2015.

Award-winning author and filmmaker Arthur Dong received the American Book Award from poet/playwright Genny Lim at the 36th Annual American Book Awards ceremony at the San Francisco Jazz Center on October 25, 2015.

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