News

Mary Mammon, one of the original performers from San Francisco’s golden era of Chinatown nightclubs during World War II, is remembered as a trailblazing rebel. Read the article here. See more photos of Mary with an extended interview in the book Forbidden City, USA.

Pop culture author/professor Oliver Wang and Arthur Dong discuss the Criterion Channel retrospective “Stories of Resistance: Documentaries by Arthur Dong.” Streaming here.

Chinatown nightclub singer Eleanor Yung (Elly/Nora Chui) passed away peacefully in her sleep on Valentine’s Day 2022. Labelled the “Nightingale of Chinatown,” Ms. Yung was a featured entertainer during the 1940s, performing at San Francisco’s Chinatown nightclubs like the Lion’s Den and the Kubla Khan.

The Queer Review reports on the “Pioneers of Queer Cinema” series at UCLA Film & TV Archive: “Let us as a community be reinvigorated by the work of these pioneering queer filmmakers and strive to support and even create our own uncompromising queer stories that examine our lives from within.” Coming Out Under Fire screens February 20, 2022. Read the full article here. Watch the post screening Q & A here.

After years of planning and pandemic-delays, Pioneers of Queer Cinema “brings together a diverse group of filmmakers who showcase radical explorations of sexual orientation and gender identity.” Coming Out Under Fire is screened Feb 20. Read the Q Voice News article here. Watch the post screening Q & A here.

February 20, 2022: The 4k restoration of Coming Out Under Fire has its theatrical premiere at UCLA Film & Television Archive‘s Pioneers of Queer Cinema, a retrospective celebrating LGBTQ+ cinematic achievements from the last seven decades. 12 nights, 33 films. Watch the post screening Q & A here. More info: https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/…/pioneers-of-queer-cinema

We’re delighted to share this photo of Chinatown nightclub dancer/nightclub owner COBY YEE in a vintage 1960s photo on the right. On the left is the actual headdress that was gifted to our archives  by her daughter Shari Roh Matsuura and dancer Frankie Fictitious — THANK YOU for entrusting us with the stewardship of such a beautiful relic of our history!

“…it’s clear that LGBTQ+ individuals continue to be targeted for violence in our society, no matter how far we may have come in our fight for acceptance and equality. It’s important – perhaps more important than ever – to raise awareness in the community about this issue, and that’s why the timing is perfect for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’s upcoming public screening of Licensed to Kill” —John Paul King, Los Angeles Blade

Licensed to Kill screens December 14, 2021 at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’s final program of “Sound Off: A Celebration of Women Composers.” For composer Miriam Cutler, “This is the film and filmmaker that changed the course of my composing career.” The evening’s moderator Kimberly Peirce said “I will discuss the making of the movie, it’s score by Miriam Cutler and it’s profound influence on my movie Boys Don’t Cry.” Tickets: https://www.academymuseum.org/…/licensed-to-kill…

The Los Angeles-based Academy Museum has opened to critical and popular acclaim. “Movie Museum Rethinks Exhibitions in Response to a Changing World,” reports the New York Times. Since 2017, Arthur Dong has served on the museum’s Inclusion Advisory Committee to help develop curatorial, programming, educational, and public engagement content. Pictured: Arthur stands by his quote on display in the “Future of Cinema” installation.