video i Season 13
#1304 - Original Airdate: Mon, January 21 at 11pm
IMMIGRATION
Featuring 2 powerful documentaries that highlight the struggles of Asian immigrants.
STATELESS (DIR. DUC NGUYEN)
In 2005, after 16 years of being neglected by the International community, Vietnamese refugees who have been living in the Philippines without legal status received the news they have been waiting for. The U.S. government decided to send officials to Manila to look into their cases for resettlement. This documentary follows the refugees who anxiously wait for their dreams to come true, and reveals the stories of their struggle for freedom. For more about the film and the filmmaker, visit his website at: bolinao52.com.
Filmmaker Bio
Before becoming an independent documentary filmmaker, Duc Nguyen worked for over 10 years in the entertainment industry with jobs ranging from set painting to interactive television producing. In 2001, he produced Mediated Reality, a documentary examining the U.S. mainstream television's portrayal of the tug-of-war between U.S. and Cuba over 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez. Recently, Duc directed and produced Bolinao 52, a feature documentary about Vietnamese Boat People. This film won an Audience Award at the Vietnamese International Film Festival and screened at numerous film festivals around the world including the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, the Globians Documentary Film Festival in Potsdam, Germany and the Raindance Film Festival in London, England.
POKDONG (DIR. ALEX KO)
On April 29th 1992, Hyung and Hye Ko watched helplessly as an angry mob burned their video store to ashes during the Los Angeles Riots. Over a decade later, their son, director Alex Ko, confronts this haunted past with his family. Pokdong is Korean for "riots", and yet this film is about much more that the event itself. This personal documentary is an intimate window into one immigrant family's struggle to build a dream, persevere, and make sense out of an event that continues to haunt America to this day. To learn more about this film you can contact the filmmaker at: alexko@pokdong.com.
Filmmaker Bio
Alex Ko graduated with an MFA from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 2006. With a background in journalism and cinema, Alex's creative vision reflects his interest in both fiction and non-fiction films. He is currently working on a documentary about underground Korean American hip hop and a feature film based on his family's immigrant experience. When not making films, Alex hosts RadioActive, a public affairs radio show on 90.7FM KPFK Los Angeles, an affiliate of the progressive Pacifica network.