Arthur Dong at the Chinese American Museum, Thursday, Dec. 3

I was asked to conduct a Q&A with filmmaker Arthur Dong at the Chinese American Museum on Thursday, December 3. Although Arthur is best known for his hard-hitting documentaries about gays in the military, gays who grow up in hardcore Christian families, and prisoners who have been convicted for hate crimes against gays, his most recent piece is not about hate but a labor of love. Hollywood Chinese is a loving but critical treatment of the roles and treatment of Chinese in mainstream Hollywood movies, from Charlie Chan to Suzie Wong and beyond. It's fun and thought provoking, and so is the museum exhibit that is related to it...

I'm flattered that they thought of me as a person who could help out, and I hope to see you there. Here's the scoop:

Hollywood Chinese Film Screening and Curator Talk with Arthur Dong
Thursday, December 3, 2009 / 6–8 p.m.
CAM at El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument
Co-presented by Visual Communications

Lights, camera, action! Watch the film that inspired the exhibit—Arthur Dong’s Award-Winning documentary, Hollywood Chinese! The 90-minute film screening will kick-off with an insightful Curator Talk with Arthur Dong, where he will discuss the origins, inspirations and motivations for the Hollywood Chinese project. To RSVP, please call (213) 485-8567 or email RSVP@camla.org with the subject heading “Curator Talk” by Nov. 30, 2009.