San Diego Asian Film Festival 2008

From 1916, when the first Asian American feature-length film was produced, to BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN ninety years later, HOLLYWOOD CHINESE comprehensively documents the contributions Chinese American have made to American cinema. Featuring interviews with notable artists such as Ang Lee, Wayne Wang, Joan Chen, David Henry Hwang, Nancy Kwan, Justin Lin, B.D. Wong, Lisa Lu, and James Hong, this fine documentary blends the first-person accounts of the earlier pioneers with interviews with some of today’s most influential stars. The film also contains rare footage, including clips from reels that director Arthur Dong re-discovered from the 1916 film CURSE OF QUON GWON, the earliest known Asian American film. All important eras in Asian American film are covered, including the yellow-face era of exploitation films.

With HOLLYWOOD CHINESE, Award-winning filmmaker Arthur Dong has succeeded in creating an entertaining and extraordinarily informative documentary film. Truly a landmark achievement in Asian American film, HOLLYWOOD CHINESE is a film that should seen by all persons with interest in American film.

Co-presented by the New Americans Museum of San Diego.

Review of HOLLYWOOD CHINESE (The New York Times)