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Forever, Chinatown

DOCUMENTARY SHORT| 32 MINUTES | 2016

“Forever, Chinatown” (Emmy-nominee, Documentary Cultural/Historical) is a story of unknown, self-taught 81-year-old artist Frank Wong who has spent the past four decades recreating his fading memories by building romantic, extraordinarily detailed miniature models of the San Francisco Chinatown rooms of his youth.

This film takes the journey of one individual and maps it to a rapidly changing urban neighborhood from 1940s to present day. A meditation on memory, community, and preserving one’s own legacy, Frank‘s three-dimensional miniature dioramas become rare portals into a historic neighborhood and a window to the artist’s filtered and romanticized memories and emotional struggles.

“Wong’s craft is... fascinating...meticulous... bringing 1940s Chinatown back to life in miniature”
— Linda Poon (The Atlantic, CityLab)
“Masterfully directed...beautifully shot”
— Cindy Maram (Dig In Magazine)
 
 

Screenings & awards

 
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Gold Telly Award 2018 (Television: Craft-Directing), WINNER

Gold Telly Award 2018 (Television: Cultural), WINNER

American Film Showcase (September 2017-2018)

National Public Television Broadcast, May- June 2017 (WGBH/World; PBS)

Seattle Asian American Film Festival, *WINNER Audience Award + Jury Award Documentary Short, 2018*

Berkeley Public Library

University Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

Yale University Film Series

Asian American International Film Festival, New York

American Institute of Architects

Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival  *WINNER Jury Award Documentary Short, Best Cinematography, 2017*

Association of Asian American Studies Conference

Camerimage Int'l Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography, Poland *Nominee Best Short Doc*

Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival    

Hawaii International Film Festival    

San Francisco Film Society Doc Stories    

Austin Asian Film Festival *WINNER Audience Award Best Short Doc 2017*

Boston Asian American Film Festival *WINNER Audience Award Best Short Doc 2016*

Santa Fe Indie Film Festival    

Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival    

Hanoi Cinematheque, Vietnam

Rhode Island International FF    

Doc Edge (New Zealand) *Nominee Best Short Doc*

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival *World Premiere 2016* 

CAAMfest, special work-in-progress screening

 

Trailer & Clips

“...lovely, rich...full of such detail and unspoken gaps...a complex portrait of a man and his memory”
— Sandip Roy (Journalist, KALW, NPR, Huffington Post, New American Media; Author, “Don’t Let Him Know”)
“exquisite...heart-warming”
— (Brenda Wong Aoki, Award-winning Playwright, Performer, Storyteller, founding faculty member; Institute for Diversity in the Arts at Stanford University)

The Miniature Rooms

“Our memories sometimes are prettier than what they really are...
All my miniatures are composites.
It’s half wishing and half memory.
”
— Frank Wong

Made from various mix-media (wood, plastic, cloth, paper) artist Frank Wong's dioramas are 1:1 (1 inch to 1 foot) in scale and some are electrically wired. Over two-decades to complete, the seven miniature dioramas are:

Herb Store, Shoe Shine Stand, The Dining Room, The Living Room, Single Room Occupancy, The Laundry, and Grandmother's Kitchen.

All dioramas are on permanent display at the Chinese Historical Society of America in San Francisco, Chinatown.

 

 

Meet the team

 

 

Produced and Directed by James Q. Chan

Producer  Corey Tong

Associate Producer Penelope Wong


Director of Photography Jeff den Broeder


Editor + Miniatures Photography Michael Palmieri


Assistant Editor Donal Mosher


Original Music Thomas Lauderdale, Pink Martini


Sound Designer Jeremiah Moore

Sound Effects and Dialogue Editor Tanvi Phadke

HD Finishing ZAP Zoetrope Aubry Productions

Colorist Leo Hallal

Legal Pamela Kong, Esq.

Rights Clearance Justine Jacobs

Researcher Dorothy Quock


Graphic Design James DiRito

Advisors Santhosh Daniel, Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, Melanie Ide, Chi-hui Yang


Special Thanks Susan Weeks

Full Film Credits here

 

A co-production of GOOD MEDICINE PICTURE COMPANY and INDEPENDENT TELEVISION SERVICE (ITVS)

presented in association with the CENTER FOR ASIAN AMERICAN MEDIA (CAAM),

with funding provided by CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING (CPB)

 

 

National Public Television Broadcast May - June 2017

Additional Support:

Stream/PUrchase

DVD (All Region)
Closed Caption
32 min Festival Version
Limited Edition

 

FOR EDUCATORS &

INSTITUTIONS

If you would like to purchase a DVD or a streaming license for use in a classroom, library, or community organization, please click the links below.

“...one of the most beautiful and touching documentaries that I have ever seen”
— Dana Summers (Shuffle Online)
“A beautifully-crafted short film preserving the legacy of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Breathtaking cinematography and nostalgic music intertwined with the intricate storytelling of artist Frank Wong transports you through an experience you will never forget. A must watch on Kanopy!”
— Anna Oh (Staff, Kanopy Streaming)
“In more than 10 years of teaching documentary classes in continuing education programs, I can’t recall filmmakers or a film generating so much energy and enthusiasm among my students.”
— Michael Fox (Critic; Journalist; Instructor, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute)
““...this has helped me critically re-examine the beauty of a community I call my home. Although I may be miles apart from San Francisco...I deeply connect with the documentary.””
— Julie M. (Viewer, Toronto, Canada)
 
 

Stream online

HOME VIDEO Purchase

This DVD is for personal and home use only. Not licensed for public screenings or educational/institutional use.

Order now by clicking on the link below & logging in to PayPal to purchase from GOOD MEDICINE PICTURE COMPANY. $25 includes first-class shipping to US addresses.

send it home! GIFT a Copy to your local Public library.

Enjoyed the film and want your community to have access to it? Purchase an institutional copy and we will donate a DVD on your behalf to your hometown library.

$80 includes a Public Performance License + shipping/handling.

 

HOST A SCREENING

To host a screening and/or invite the filmmaker(s) to speak at your event, please drop us a line.

 
“Excellent documentary movie illustrating the simple and complex dynamics growing up in an ethnic minority community, working in mainstream settings, coping and managing oppression and discrimination through creative expressive art.”
— Paul Hoang (Founder/CEO, Moving Forward Psychological Institute)