FAR EAST DEEP SOUTH

FAR EAST DEEP SOUTH details the emotional story of a family as they rediscover their deep roots in America. Follow the Chiu family on their journey to the Mississippi Delta, where they uncover the forgotten history of Chinese Americans in the South and their complicated relationship with their adopted homeland.

The trip becomes both a surreal and informative experience. In Mississippi, they are met by a warm community that proudly celebrates the family’s acts of charity to its people. They also find an opportunity also to unbox generational trauma caused by the  family’s separation due to the Chinese Exclusion Act.

In the span of just several hours, a simple trip turns into an unexpected and emotional journey uncovering lost family history and the legacy of the early Chinese immigrants in the Deep South. The film’s story is told through a combination of cinema verite footage and interviews with local Mississippi residents the family encounters and historians. The film provides lessons on immigration, race and American identity that current and future generations can glean from this challenging time in history. — Samya Brohmi

Program includes exclusive Q&A with Director Larissa Lam, Producer Baldwin Chiu and Composer Nathan Wang.

Director Biography: Larissa Lam is a native of Diamond Bar, CA and graduated from UCLA. She was the director and music composer of the multi-award winning documentary short, “Finding Cleveland”. In 2018, she was selected to be part of the prestigious Smithsonian Institute’s History Film Forum Emerging Filmmaker’s Lab. She began her career in entertainment as the Chief Financial Officer of NSOUL Records before becoming an award-winning singer and songwriter who has released four albums worldwide including her most recent, “Love & Discovery”. Beyond music, she has produced TV shows such as Top 3 for JUCE TV, music videos and other short form videos such as “A Day in the Life of an Engineer” for Intel’s Stay With It campaign. She has written & produced music for TV ( The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Oz, E!, TLC), film ( Dead Man Down, Gone) and video games (Konami, Square Enix).

Co-presented by: Asian American Documentary Network, East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation

THIS FILM IS AVAILABLE ON CAAMFEST ON-DEMAND.

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