Category Archives: Documentary

Coming to PBS’s American Experience tomorrow, Tuesday, May 29:
THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT

Directors:
Ric Burns and Li-Shin Yu

Premiere:
CAAMFest 2017

Select Festivals:
LA Asian Pacific, DisOrient, Philadelphia Asian American, Austin Asian American

About:
An in-depth consideration of the discriminatory US law that targeted Chinese nationals.

In 1882, the US Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, the only federal legislation explicitly naming a specific nationality as undesireable and restricting its immigration and citizenship rights in America. For Chinese nationals who had already toiled on US soil, it prevented them from seeking naturalized US citizenship or from sponsoring family members to join them in the promised land of the free. For Chinese who wished to seek a new life in America, it quashed that dream. For the children of Chinese nationals born in the US, it created bureaucratic hurdles and questions around the validity of their US citizenship, so much so that it led to a Supreme Court case with ramifications for anyone born on US soil. Directors Burns and Yu trace the history, origins, and impact of the discriminatory law and those that followed which targeted Chinese and Chinese-Americans, placing this largely forgotten part of US history within the larger context of societal and legislative strictures on what constituted American identity, and how race and prejudice factored in to these decisions. At the same time, the film reflects on the resistance the Chinese community in America demonstrated when faced with these oppressive laws, from filing legal challenges to refusing to cooperate with racist registration programs. While hewing exactly to conventional storytelling and drowning in a sea of talking heads, the film feels comprehensive and informative, and carries with it an unspoken commentary on present-day attempts to restrict citizenship and immigration on racial, religious, or national lines.

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens this Monday, May 28:
SERVED LIKE A GIRL

Director:
Lysa Heslov

Premiere:
SXSW 2017

Select Festivals:
Bentonville

About:
Participants in the Ms Veteran America competition bring awareness to the plight of homeless female vets.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

New to DVD this week:
OUR BLOOD IS WINE

Director:
Emily Railsback

Premiere:
Berlin 2018

About:
An appreciation of the ancient winemaking traditions of the Republic of Georgia.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS’s America ReFramed tonight, Tuesday, May 22:
WHO IS ARTHUR CHU?

Directors:
Scott J Drucker, Yu Gu

Premiere:
Slamdance 2017

Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, CAAMFest, Cleveland, San Diego Asian, Austin Asian, Calgary Doc, DisOrient

About:
A portrait of the controversial JEOPARDY champion and vocal online cultural critic.

Chu found his proverbial 15 minutes of fame on the TV quiz show staple, JEOPARDY, amassing nearly $300,000 over his 11 wins. His controversial style of play led to a backlash demonstrating the worst of the Internet, with trolls deriding Chu’s appearance and ethnicity. Self-described as an angry nerd, the champion refused to back down, confronting his detractors and speaking out publicly about the toxic elements of nerd culture, including racism and sexism. Drucker and Gu’s profile follows Chu just as his time on JEOPARDY comes to an end, leaving him to figure out his next steps as a public speaker and writer, and what this means for his wife, burdened with a chronic illness. At the same time, Chu reflects on his upbringing as the son of Taiwanese immigrants, and how his fraught relationship with his father, in particular, helped shape his complex and conflicted feelings about being Asian American in a country that still views other races as outsiders. While quietly compelling at times, the film doesn’t always successfully balance these different elements of Chu’s story, and might have benefited from additional outside perspectives to create a fuller sense of why Chu emerged as such a contentious figure, as well as the broader questions of race, representation, and belonging about which he comments.

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, May 21:
ACORN AND THE FIRESTORM

Directors:
Reuben Atlas and Sam Pollard

Premiere:
Tribeca 2017

Select Festivals:
AFI Docs, Montclair, Traverse City, Indie Memphis, Cucalorus, St Louis, Milwaukee, Napa Valley

About:
An exploration of the manufactured controversy that led to the downfall of a powerful community-based advocacy group.

I previously wrote about the doc here.