“Vincent Who?” Film screening April 28 looks at the history of Asian hate in America
The Asian Studies Program invites all members of the community to a screening of documentary filmmaker Curtis Chin’s award-winning film “Vincent Who?” on Thursday, April 28, in Lecture Center 108.
The film focuses on the 1980s murder of Vincent Chin in Detroit. The screening will be followed by an in-person Q&A with director Curtis Chin.
This film brings important attention to the issues that Asian Americans and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities around the country have experienced throughout our history, at a moment when current events repeatedly remind us that these issues remain a reality for many in these communities.
In 1982, at the height of anti-Japanese sentiments, Vincent Chin was murdered in Detroit by two white autoworkers who harassed him. When the judged fined the killers a mere $3,000 and three years probation, Asian Americans around the country galvanized for the first time to form a real community and movement.
This documentary features interviews with the key players at the time, as well as a whole new generation of activists. “Vincent Who?” asks how far Asian Americans have come since then and how far we have yet to go. This film has been screened at over 500 universities and non-government organizations in the US and internationally.
This screening is sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, the School of Education, the School of Fine & Performing Arts, the Asian Studies Program, the Asian & Pacific Islander Student Alliance (APISA) and the Departments of Languages, Literatures & Cultures, Digital Media & Journalism, Anthropology and Geography.
About Curtis Chin
Curtis Chin is a Detroit- born, New York-bred, Los Angeles-based documentary filmmaker. His films include “Vincent Who?” and “Tested.” Chin has written for shows on ABC, the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, as well as projects for NBC and Fox. He has won awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the San Diego Asian American Film Foundation, among others. He co-founded the Asian American Writers Workshop and served on Barack Obama’s Asian American Leadership Council.