New Day Films at Duke - Far East Deep South

October 21, -
Speaker(s): Larissa Lam
Far East, Deep South, 2020, 76mins, plus Q&A with filmmaker Larissa Lam
by Baldwin Chiu and Larissa Lam

Far East Deep South sheds light on the history of Chinese immigrants in the American South and the discrimination they faced during the late 1800s to mid-1900s through the emotional journey of Charles Chiu and his family as they travel from California to Mississippi to find answers about Charles' father, K.C. Lou. With the help of local residents and historians, the family learns about the interconnected relationship between the Black and Chinese communities in the Jim Crow era and the impact of restrictive immigration policies that kept their family apart for generations. Through a series of stunning discoveries at the Mississippi Delta Chinese Heritage Museum and the National Archives, the Chiu family also uncover how deep their roots run in America. This unforgettable story offers a poignant perspective on race, immigration, and American identity.

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New Day Films was founded in 1971 by four feminist filmmakers, Julia Reichert, Jim Klein, Liane Brandon, and Amalie Rothschild, who were frustrated by mainstream distribution channels. The ground breaking co-op would grow to over 300 titles and 140 filmmakers today.

Duke University's Archive of Documentary Arts and Screen/Society, along with the Power Plant Gallery, are proud to present four days of screenings and discussions celebrating more than 50 years of New Day Films.

The Archive of Documentary Arts at the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library is the home of the New Day Films collection, which includes the original founder's films and the ever-expanding digital films collection. While New Day turned 50 in 2021, it is with great pleasure that we able to gather again in the Ruby Theater this October 2022 to explore some of the films from the archive.

Generous support for this program is provided by: Asian American & Diaspora Studies Program, Cinematic Arts, MFA Experimental and Documentary Arts Program, and Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History & Culture. And a special thanks to: Forum for Scholars & Publics, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, The Center for Documentary Studies, and Duke Arts/Vice Provost for the Arts.
Sponsor

American Tobacco Campus - Power Plant

Co-Sponsor(s)

Archive of Documentary Arts; Asian American and Diaspora Studies; Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture; Center for Documentary Studies (CDS); Cinematic Arts; David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library; Duke Arts; Forum for Scholars and Publics; Full Frame Documentary Film Festival; Master of Fine Arts in Experimental & Documentary Arts (MFAEDA)