CAAMFest 2014 Honors Two Film Production Pioneers

The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) is excited to showcase two pioneers from Asian and Asian American film history: Joseph Sunn Jue and Run Run Shaw.
 
Legendary Chinese American producer Joseph Sunn Jue formed the Grandview Film Company in San Francisco in 1933. It was the only operating Chinese American motion picture company in the United States during the 1930s. With the help of the Hong Kong Film Archive, CAAMFest 2014 will present two of seven surviving Grandview productions for the first time in 67 years.
 
Run Run Shaw is one of the most influential figures in the Asian entertainment industry. The Hong Kong mogul and movie producer was also a philanthropist who donated billions to charities in his lifetime and also founded Shaw Brothers Studios. On January 7, 2014, Shaw passed away at the age of 106. CAAM pays tribute to his legacy with a screening of three of his studio’s spectacular cinematic creations.
 
CAAM is pleased to present these films at the Great Star Theater, Chinatown’s last remaining film theater which showed the early works of Run Run Shaw.
 
OUT OF THE VAULTS: REDISCOVERING GRANDVIEW FILMS
 
CAAMFest’s Out of the Vaults showcases films ripe for rediscovery. This year’s presentation highlights Joseph Sunn Jue and his Grandview Film Company. Producing a series of imaginative comedies, melodramas and romances geared towards the Cantonese-speaking market in the 1930s, Grandview captured a unique era in the lives of Chinese Americans. Produced during World War II, the films — many shot in 16mm color — featured talent from the rich stock of Cantonese opera actors living and working in San Francisco as well as the picturesque sites of Golden Gate Park, Playland and the San Francisco Zoo. Teaming up with the Hong Kong Film Archive, these films, rescued from an Oakland dumpster in the 1980s, are finally coming home. CAAM is proud to present two of these seven existing films now with English subtitles.
 
BLACK MARKET COUPLE (1947) depicts a new generation of Chinese who are making a living for themselves in the United States, all while trying to adapt to local customs. Wednesday, March 19th at 7PM at Great Star Theater in San Francisco.
 
WHITE POWDER AND NEON LIGHTS (1947) is a Chinese American take on the age-old theatrical chestnut of “putting on a show.” Determined to start their own Cantonese opera company, a group of young Chinese actors in San Francisco hire a famous opera singer from China, but complications arise as she is spotted and courted by wealthy businessman. Tuesday, March 18th at 9PM at Great Star Theater in San Francisco.
 
TRIBUTE: RUN RUN SHAW
 Run Run Shaw’s Shaw Brothers Studios was one of the largest film production companies in Hong Kong and is credited with popularizing the kung fu film genre on a global scale. CAAMFest is honored to present a trio of movies produced by the late Asian cinema pioneer.
 
THE KINGDOM AND THE BEAUTY (1959): Set in Imperial China, the epic musical tells the tale of a Chinese Emperor in love with a country maiden. Saturday, March 15th at 2PM at the Great Star Theater in San Francisco.
 
COME DRINK WITH ME (1966): In the celebrated Hong King wuxia (martial arts) film, Cheng Pei-pei became an overnight sensation with a tour de force performance still considered as one of the mightiest female warriors in cinematic history. Saturday, March 15th at 5PM at the Great Star Theater in San Francisco.
 
KING BOXER (FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH) (1972): is one of the first martial arts films to sweep through North America in the 1970s and begin America’s fascination with kung fu. Martial arts legend Lo Lieh (FISTS OF FURY II) shines in this cinematic cult sensation that continues to garner new generations of fandom. Saturday March 15th at 8PM at the Great Star Theater in San Francisco.