DeepFocus Productions - "Sewing Woman"
DeepFocus Productions logo Return to Main Page Catalog of films
Profile of Arthur Dong
News and Current Projects
Screening Dates and Locations
How to Purchase Films Contact Information

Sewing Woman

1982
16mm
14 minutes 10 seconds
English
black/white

Academy Award® Nominee
Best Short Documentary

Best Social Studies Film
National Educational Media Network

for rental info only

SEWING WOMAN chronicles the bittersweet journey of one woman's determination to survive: from an arranged marriage in old China to working class comforts in modern America. Produced over 18 years ago, this classic film continues to screen widely and is now treasured by a new generation of film goers -- it is considered by many cinema enthusiasts as an early prototype for the personal-diary genre made popular today with the recent handi-cam video explosion.

SEWING WOMAN is based on a series of oral histories and the life story of the filmmaker's mother, Zem Ping Dong, an immigrant who has worked in San Francisco garment factories for over 30 years. With a candid first-person monologue spoken by noted actress Lisa Lu (The Joy Luck Club, The Last Emperor), Sewing Woman reveals an inner strength which guides a journey through oppressive Chinese customs, U.S. immigration policies, family separation, and the conflicts of assimilation in America. SEWING WOMAN's story is interwoven with rare footage shot in rural villages of China and in factories of San Francisco Chinatown, treasured home movies, and intimate family photographs.

A four-page study and discussion accompanies the film for use in educational settings.

A special Chinese subtitled version is also available. Please inquire.

For Rentals Only, contact:

Third World Newsreel
545 Eighth Avenue, 10th Floor
New York, NY 10018
Phone: 212-947-9277
Fax: 212-594-6417
Email: twn@twn.org
Website: www.twn.org

NAATA Distribution
(National Asian American Telecommunications Association)
145 Ninth St. Suite 350
San Francisco, Ca 94103
Phone: 415/552-9550
Fax: 415/863-7428
Email: distribution@naatanet.org
Website: www.naatanet.org/distrib

home | films | biography | news | screenings | order | contact

Copyright 2000. Arthur Dong/DeepFocus Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.