Far East Deep South – Documenting Underrepresented Family Stories

Our filmmakers will be presenting a special session at RootsTech Connect 2021. RootsTech is the largest family and genealogical conference in the world. This year’s event is all virtual and will be offered free for the first time. Sign up to watch Baldwin Chiu and Larissa Lam’s class but also over 200 other speakers and classes to choose from in multiple languages.

Have you thought about sharing your family history with the world but don’t know how to start? After hearing the dynamic husband-wife duo of Baldwin Chiu and Larissa Lam talk about their family’s discoveries, you’ll be inspired to share underrepresented family stories so that future generations will benefit from this history. 

Many families, especially those of Asian descent, are reluctant to discuss the past due to cultural barriers and generational trauma. As a result, there’s a lack of documentation and representation of those family stories in general historical narratives. In this session, learn how Baldwin Chiu uncovered his family history starting with only a photo of his grandfather’s gravesite and documented his journey in the award-winning film, Far East Deep South. Baldwin’s search for answers about his Chinese roots led to an unlikely place, Mississippi, where his ancestors ran a grocery store in the Jim Crow era. Discover how the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 left behind a paper trail of his family’s history at the National Archives. and learn simple, yet significant ways you can document and share your family’s history.

This event will run from February 25-27th, 2021 – sign up for free below!

Far East Deep South – AAJIL Webinar

Join us for this webinar and Q&A with filmmaker, Larissa Lam, who directed the award-winning and enlightening documentary, Far East Deep South, about a Chinese American family’s surprising search for their roots that leads to the Mississippi Delta. Larissa will discuss the significance of Chinese grocery stores in the South, shed light on the shared history between Chinese and Black families during segregation and why this history matters today. This presentation will include a preview of film clips from Far East Deep South as well as a time of Q&A.

This free webinar event will be on Wednesday, February 10th – Sign up below!

Far East Deep South – Southern Circuit Tour

We are excited to announce that Far East Deep South has been selected to screen as part of the prestigious Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers. Originally set to be in-person screenings, the tour has now moved to a virtual screening format February 14-17; February 21-24, 2021 and will include a virtual Q&A with director, Larissa Lam, and producer, Baldwin Chiu. 

The Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers connects US-based documentary filmmakers with Screening Partner communities throughout the South to share their work, discuss their process, and engage with audiences.

“Access to independent documentary filmmaking is more important than ever. We have taken steps to ensure that our audiences and filmmakers can share these essential conversations, regardless of the circumstances,” said Teresa Hollingsworth, Program Director for Film and Traditional Arts. “Through Southern Circuit, audiences interact with filmmakers directly, learning about the art of filmmaking and engaging with issues relevant to their community through a new lens.”

Since its inception in 1975, Southern Circuit has brought some of best independent filmmakers and their films from around the country to communities throughout the South. The program is presented by South Arts and made possible through a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.

Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers Participating venue partners include:

  • Bologna Performing Arts Center/Delta State University, Cleveland, MS
  • City of Hapeville, Hapeville, GA
  • Gateway Regional Arts Center, Mt. Sterling, KY
  • University of Pikeville, Pikeville, KY

Far East Deep South Joins New Day Films for Educational Distribution

We are excited to announce that Far East Deep South is now available for educational licensing through New Day Films. Universities, libraries, schools and more will now have the ability to license our film to screen for educational purposes. The film is available to stream on New Day’s website with various licensing terms, digital life of file purchase or educational DVD purchase.

New Day Films is a unique, filmmaker-run distribution company, providing award-winning films to educators, community groups, government agencies, public libraries and businesses since 1971. New Day has continued to deliver dynamic, provocative storytelling for 50 years. New Day filmmakers have won Academy Awards including co-founder, Julia Reichert (2020 Best Documentary Winner for American Factory), 4 Emmys, and hundreds of awards at prestigious film festivals. New Day films have been broadcast on PBS, HBO and other media outlets. 

Far East Deep South – Encore Screening on Cinejoy by Cinequest

We’re back for an encore screening with Cinequest! A couple weeks ago we thought we officially ended our Fall Film Fest Tour, but Cinequest has invited us back to participate in their encore screening (Dec. 15-31st). Far East Deep South won the 2020 Audience Award at Cinequest, and we’re excited to share our film online one last time this year! If you didn’t get to watch our film yet, click here or button below to watch it on Cinejoy powered by Cinequest.

Far East Deep South Wins Audience Award at PAAFF

We’re so honored to announce that we won the 2020 Audience Award at PAAFF (Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival)! This marks our 5th win of the season, and we couldn’t be more grateful to all the film festivals and fans that have supported us throughout our Fall Film Fest Tour. Thank you to all that watched our film virtually and promoted it on social media. We have enjoyed sharing our film with the world, and we’re so glad that people have continued to love it back!

Far East Deep South Wins Audience Award at Cinequest

We’re so happy to announce another major win for our film. We made our World Premiere in March at Cinequest Film Festival before the pandemic shut everything down and also screened during their Virtual Film Festival in October. It’s been quite a journey because of the unusual year the world is having. It’s a wonderful surprise to receive this award when we didn’t even know if audiences would be able to watch our film at all several months ago.

We thank everyone who watched our film in-person in March and online in October for giving our film such high ratings!

Far East Deep South at Women Texas Film Festival

We’re happy to announce that our film is an official selection at Women Texas Film Festival! It will be a celebration of female filmmakers like our director Larissa Lam. It’s an esteemed group of films that will be showcased this year. Our screening will take place on Sat. Aug. 15th, 2020. This is an online event but it will be geo-blocked for residents of Texas only.

The screening will be free or pay what you can. You must register to view the film and the film is viewable on-demand only on Aug 15th until 11:59pm CDT.

Larissa Lam and Baldwin Chiu will also take part in a filmmaker Q&A and panel on racial healing on Aug 15th at 6pm CDT. The panel will stream live on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrxI8J0hor2-Fq4ViSuZn_Q and Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/womenTXFF

Click below for more details and to register to watch the film.