“Chinatown in the Archives” Screening and Q&A by DCTV

Think!Chinatown are honored to invite partner and neighbor Jon Alpert of Firehouse: DCTV’s Cinema for Documentary Film to curate this film series “Chinatown in the Archives” specially for Chinatown Storytelling Festival. Don’t miss out on this one-night-only screening and Q&A with filmmakers Donald Chong (DCTV’s first employee!), John Louie (one of the first youth filmmakers), Keiko Tsuno, and Jacob Lam.

Curated by Think!Chinatown’s partner and neighbor Jon Alpert of Firehouse: DCTV’s Cinema for Documentary Film, the Chinatown in the Archives program explores the DCTV archives from the early 1970’s. During that time, NYC’s Chinatown fought for better public services, greater opportunities, and cultural respect, simultaneously coinciding with the birth of community media. DCTV was honored to have played an important role in the community’s victories during this time. Some of these films documenting this moment survived, and will be presented in snippets for the first time in half a century.

• Chinatown Health Fair (1972), the second DCTV community video, is part organizing, part public service, part educational, and part of the campaign to build Gouverneur, NYC’s first community hospital.

• School Board (1972) follows the Chinatown community successfully fighting back against a corrupt local school board.

• Chinatown Immigrants in America (1976), directed by Laurie Wen, examines how Chinese immigrants live at the complex crossroads of food, language, colonization, and immigration.

• The Story of Vinh (1991), directed by Keiko Tsuno, follows Vinh as he spirals down from the streets of Saigon to life with the Born to Kill gang in Chinatown.

• Canal Street (1998), directed by Keiko Tsuno, captures life on New York’s helter skelter, cacophonous, toughest thoroughfare, and first stop for many immigrants.

• Snakeheads (1994), directed by Ying Chan, Peter Kwong, and Jon Alpert, provides a rare view inside the illegal Chinese immigration trade.

• The Great Blackout (1978), DCTV’s first youth video, is an endearing and naive treasure of time in a bottle.

• Wing Lam (2015), a comprehensive portrait of one of Chinatown’s eminent community organizers and why he keeps fighting.

• My Normal Family Life (2011), directed by Jonathan Chang, accounts the high school filmmaker’s experience with his mother’s early onset dementia.

• A Lost Voice (2018), directed by high school filmmaker Jacob Lam, is an animated classic about a young immigrant’s struggle with prejudice, pride, and identity.

• Redemption (2012), directed by Matt O’Neill and Jon Alpert, an Oscar-nominated portrait of Lilly and the canners of Chinatown, who try to survive on what others throw away.

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DCTV has been New York City’s preeminent community of and for documentary storytellers since 1972. By providing professional training and tools, access to critical equipment and public exhibition space in Manhattan, DCTV gives youth, aspiring and emerging filmmakers and communities of all backgrounds greater voice and platforms through documentary film. Find more at www.dctvny.org

Chinatown Storytelling Festival is a celebration of Think!Chinatown’s newly produced storytelling projects, as well as a deep dive across archives of short films about Chinatown. Chinatown Storytelling Festival aims to foster the creation and viewership of projects featuring our under-told stories. Find more at thinkchinatown.org/storyfest

Think!Chinatown is a place-based intergenerational non-profit in Manhattan’s Chinatown, working at the intersection of storytelling, arts, and neighborhood engagement. T!C is the team behind neighborhood cultural programs like Chinatown Arts Festival, Chinatown Night Market, Chinatown Block Parties, Chinatown Storytelling Festival, and more. Find more at www.thinkchinatown.org