HIFF is hosting a free screening of Director Bao Nguyen’s ESPN 30 for 30 documentary BE WATER, followed by an after-film panel featuring Director Nguyen, Lee’s daughter Shannon Lee, Angry Asian Man founder and culture writer Phil Yu, Chi-hui Yang of the Ford Foundation, Momofuku founder and ‘Ugly Delicious’ host Dave Chang, and Kindred Ventures’ Founder Steve Jang on Friday, November 27 to celebrate Bruce Lee’s 80th birthday. The panel discussion will be moderated by New York Magazine’s Chris Lee.
Presented by ESPN and storyspaces. BE WATER will be available to screen online in North America, starting at 3pm HST/5:00 p.m. PST/ 8:00 p.m. EST. Although FREE, a ticket is still required to view the film on HIFF’s streaming platform. Click here to RSVP.
BE WATER is a feature-length documentary that offers a unique glimpse into the man behind the myth, featuring interviews from celebrity friends, members of his own family, and even private letters written by Bruce Lee. BE WATER premiered at Sundance 2020 and competed in the U.S. Dramatic Feature competition. In June, it had its U.S. broadcast debut on ESPN as part of the sports broadcaster’s 30 on 30 documentary series, breaking ratings records. It is an official selection of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival in the Cannes Classics section.
Martial artist. Actor. Philosopher. Choreographer. Filmmaker. Legend. These words summarize the Asian American icon who inspired the world with his groundbreaking work before dying mysteriously and suddenly at the age of 32. Yet many often forget that he was a man who struggled against many limitations: racism, xenophobia, and even his own ego. Bruce Lee made the most of his time on Earth, reminding us all of the importance of adaptation, persistence, and ambitious in the pursuit of greatness: in short, to be water. Synopsis written by: Lee Ngo
Arthur Dong’s award-winning documentary The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor is the Centerpiece film of the Boston Asian American Film Festival on Saturday, October 24, 2015, and will screen at the Paramount Theater in the Bright Family Screening Room, 559 Washington Street in Boston, MA. at 6:15pm. Dong will be in attendance for a Q & A after the screening.
Regular tickets: $10; AARW/ArtsEmerson Members: $7.50, accessed via Promo Code, Student/Children: $5, must present ID at box office when picking up, Seniors: $7.50, and can be purchased by clicking here.
Set against the backdrop of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge reign of terror, The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor chronicles a powerful journey of love, loss and reconciliation. The years encapsulating this horrific period are seen through the eyes of Dr. Haing S. Ngor, who escaped to America and recreated his experiences in The Killing Fields, winning an Oscar® for his first film. He became the de facto worldwide ambassador for truth and justice in his homeland, only to be gunned down in an alley in Chinatown Los Angeles – a case still surrounded by transnational conspiracy theories.
Click here for future screenings of The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor.
Award-winning author and filmmaker Arthur Dong. Photo by Lia Chang
The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor, winner of the BEST DOCUMENTARY AUDIENCE AWARD at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, builds on ARTHUR DONG’S 30-year track record of creating compelling documentaries that focus on personal stories to examine moments of history, social prejudice, and public policy concerns. As a film student at San Francisco State University, Arthur Dong produced Sewing Woman, his Academy Award nominated short documentary in 1984. The film focused on his mother’s immigration to America from China. Instead of finding an outside distributor for the film, Dong then started his own company, DeepFocus Productions, and serves as its producer, director and writer. His trilogy of films that investigate anti-gay prejudice were released in the DVD collection, “Stories from the War on Homosexuality,” and features Family Fundamentals, Licensed to Kill and Coming Out Under Fire. His films about Chinese Americans were released in the follow-up collection, “Stories from Chinese America,” and include Sewing Woman, Forbidden City, U.S.A. and Hollywood Chinese.
Filmmaker Arthur Dong _in vest) with (L-R) Wayne Ngor, nephew of the late Dr. Ngor, casting director Pat Golden who cast Dr. Ngor in The Killing Fields, and Sophia Ngor, niece of the late Dr. Ngor, at a screening of The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor at the International House in New York on October 22, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang
His films have screened theatrically in the U.S., selected for festivals worldwide like Sundance, Toronto, and Berlin, and broadcast globally. Arthur’s film awards include an Oscar® nomination, three Sundance awards, the Peabody, five Emmy nominations, the Berlin Film Festival’s Teddy Award, Taiwan’s Golden Horse Award, and two GLAAD Media awards. He has been named a Guggenheim Fellow in Film and twice selected for the Rockefeller Media Arts Fellowship. He has served on the boards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Film Independent, Outfest, and the National Film Preservation Board at the Library of Congress.
Arthur Dong will receive the 2015 American Book Award for Forbidden City, USA: Chinese American Nightclubs, 1936-1970 on October 25, 2015 in San Francisco. Photo Lia Chang
Arthur Dong’s new book Forbidden City, USA: Chinese American Nightclubs, 1936-1970 is among this year’s winners of the Thirty-Sixth Annual American Book Awards, presented by the Before Columbus Foundation. The 2015 American Book Award winners will be formally recognized on Sunday, October 25th from 2:00-5:00 p.m. at the SF Jazz Center, Joe Henderson Lab, 201 Franklin Street (at Fell), San Francisco, CA. This event is open to the public.
The book was launched in coordination with his exhibit of the same name at the San Francisco Main Library. It has just been released in a glorious edition and can be purchased here.
HIFF is hosting a free screening of Director Bao Nguyen’s ESPN 30 for 30 documentary BE WATER, followed by an after-film panel featuring Director Nguyen, Lee’s daughter Shannon Lee, Angry Asian Man founder and culture writer Phil Yu, Chi-hui Yang of the Ford Foundation, Momofuku founder and ‘Ugly Delicious’ host Dave Chang, and Kindred Ventures’ Founder Steve Jang on Friday, November 27 to celebrate Bruce Lee’s 80th birthday. The panel discussion will be moderated by New York Magazine’s Chris Lee. 
BE WATER is a feature-length documentary that offers a unique glimpse into the man behind the myth, featuring interviews from celebrity friends, members of his own family, and even private letters written by Bruce Lee. BE WATER premiered at Sundance 2020 and competed in the U.S. Dramatic Feature competition. In June, it had its U.S. broadcast debut on ESPN as part of the sports broadcaster’s 30 on 30 documentary series, breaking ratings records. It is an official selection of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival in the Cannes Classics section. 
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