Back by popular demand. Far East Deep South will make a return to TV on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021 at 8pm Eastern Time on on the WORLD Channel documentary series America ReFramed (check local listings). It will also be available to stream on WORLDchannel.org, PBS.org and the PBS Video app beginning at time of broadcast on September 14 through October 14.
In a nation that is in need of stories of hope, Far East Deep South is a deeply moving documentary that offers a poignant perspective on race relations, immigration and the deep roots of Chinese Americans in our national identity. The award-winning documentary follows Charles Chiu and his family (including his son, producer Baldwin Chiu, and daughter-in-law, director Larissa Lam) as they travel from California to Mississippi to find answers about Charles’ father, K.C. Lou. A retired Air Force reservist, Charles was left behind in China as a baby and is reluctant to discuss his family’s complicated past with his sons, Baldwin and Edwin. The family’s emotional journey to a place they’ve never seen leads to stunning revelations and a crash course on the surprising history of Chinese immigrants in the segregated South. Through encounters with local residents who remember K.C., as well as interviews with historians, the family’s trip becomes a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for discovery and healing. Directed by Larissa Lam and produced by Baldwin Chiu, Far East Deep South broadcasts
As more schools recognize the need for greater inclusion of Asian American history, Far East Deep South provides a window into a community few even know exists — Chinese immigrants in the Deep South — and reveals the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 impacted the Chiu family for generations. The family also learns about the symbiotic relationship between the Southern Black and Chinese communities during the Jim Crow era.
“Growing up in California, I learned very little about Asian American history,” said filmmaker Lam. “I made this film so that my daughter and future generations would learn more about the vast struggles and contributions of Asians in America. I hope that we can broaden the way American history is taught and discussed so that it includes the Asian American experience, especially as it pertains to learning about the American South.”
Producer Baldwin Chiu adds, “Through our film’s journey we learn that my family’s presence in America stretches six generations. Hearing more about the deeps roots of many Asians in America can help dispel the perception that we are ‘perpetual foreigners’ in the U.S.”
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