Special Screening of VINCENT WHO? in Chicago on April 19, 2008
Highlights the Lasting Impact of a Landmark Hate Crimes Incident
Chicago, April 11, 2008 – Asian Pacific Americans for Progress (APAP) is proud to announce a special screening of VINCENT WHO?, a documentary that examines the impact of the historic 1982 murder of Vincent Chin on the development of the Asian American community. Chin was fatally beaten by two autoworkers in Detroit during the height of anti-Japanese sentiments and the case brought together Asian Americans for the first time to form a powerful and lasting collective movement. The Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Foundation for Asian American Independent Media (FAAIM) have invited VINCENT WHO? to screen at its 13th edition of “Asian American Showcase” in Chicago on April 19th.
Writer-Producer Curtis Chin, who grew up in Detroit’s Chinatown, was impacted by the murder of Vincent Chin, a close family friend. “It was a small community and the murder had a profound impact on all of us. On the flipside, we were able to turn that grief and anger into something more positive.”
As the twenty-fifth anniversary of the murder approached last year, Curtis Chin and other members of APAP decided to organize a series of townhalls to commemorate the event. Working with community groups around the country, the group organized fourteen events in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York and others. The series concluded with a moving visit to Vincent’s gravesite in Detroit.
From that successful series, APAP decided to produce a documentary that would further examine the impact of the Vincent Chin case on the transformation of the Asian American community. “This was a case that really marked a turning point for our community. We really wanted to see how far we have come since then,” added Curtis Chin.
FAAIM will present VINCENT WHO? in Chicago on April 19, 2008, 5:30 pm at the Gene Siskel Film Center. The film will be featured in a tour of various community town halls, schools and film festivals throughout the US in 2008.
Interviewees and speakers in the film include Helen Zia (a leading activist during the Chin case), Stewart Kwoh (Founder & Executive Director, Asian Pacific American Legal Center), Renee Tajima-Pena (Producer & Director, Academy award-nominated WHO KILLED VINCENT CHIN?), Lisa Ling (TV journalist), Frank Wu (Dean, Wayne State University Law School), Eric Nakamura (Giant Robot), Sumi Pendakur (University of Southern California), Nhung Truong (District Representative, Office of Congressman Adam Schiff), Sejal Patel (Activist, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy) and many others.
The filmmaking team behind VINCENT WHO? includes Director Tony Lam, Producer Curtis Chin, Executive Producers Catherine Park and Keith Kamisugi, and Associate Producers Michael P. Lee and Preeti Kulkarni. Tony, Curtis, and Catherine will be in attendance at the special screening in Chicago.
VINCENT WHO? is presented by Asian Pacific Americans for Progress (www.apaforprogress.org) in association with Tony Lam Films (www.tonylamfilms.com). For more information about the documentary and the complex history of the Vincent Chin case please visitwww.vincentchin.net or call Curtis Chin at 213-453-1986.
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