Still from “An Ode to the Generations”
For the first time ever, Think!Chinatown is proud to present a selection of music-focused storytelling projects in our “Songs for Chinatown” film series at Chinatown Storytelling Festival! The “Songs for Chinatown” film series celebrates all the music lovers who have filled the soundscape of our neighborhood and continue to forge their musical path here in Chinatown. Music Is Here In Our Lives, our newest piece from our Art of Storytelling series, will premiere with this program. Following the screening, there will be a Q&A with artist Claud Li and storyteller Zhang Jingtai from Music Is Here In Our Lives.
Films from the Think!Chinatown Collection: Music Is Here In Our Lives from the Art of Storytelling series, An Ode to Our Generations featuring Arlan Huang & treya lam, An Ode to our Generations featuring Nobuko Miyamoto & treya lam, Chinatown Shopping for Fuzhou Eats with Yuhua & Jinmei
Films from Third World Newsreel: A Song for Ourselves and Forbidden City, U.S.A
Music Is Here In Our Lives
Produced by Alice Liu & Rochelle Hoi-Yiu Kwan | Story Edited by Meg Chew & Cal Hsiao | Curator & Executive Producer: Yin Kong
In Mandarin with English subtitles
Artist Claud Li brings to life the story of Chinese musician Zhang Jingtai, following his love for music from China to Manhattan’s Chinatown. After singing in a traveling propaganda band during the Cultural Revolution and teaching music at various Chinese universities, Jingtai became a music teacher at Mencius Society for the Arts in Manhattan’s Chinatown, where T!C team member Alice Liu is his student.
This piece is a part of Think!Chinatown’s Art of Storytelling series, which brings us into the everyday lives of people who have long called Chinatown home. Bringing together our neighbors and Asian American artists, this series challenges us to reimagine how we collectively remember and honor the histories of our Chinatown community members.
An Ode to Our Generations featuring Arlan Huang & treya lam
Original music by: Chris Ijima, Nobuko Miyamoto & Charlie Chin | Performed by: treya lam | Editor: Hai-Li Kong | Producer: Yin Kong | Story Production: Rochelle Hoi-Yiu Kwan
In English with Chinese subtitles
In this special revival, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter treya lam performs songs from Yellow Pearl, intertwined with the memories and hopes for the future from Arlan Huang, an artist-activist who spans generations in Chinatown.
An Ode to Our Generations featuring Nobuko Miyamoto & treya lam
Original music by: Chris Ijima, Nobuko Miyamoto, and Charlie Chin | Editor: Hai-Li Kong | Producer: Yin Kong | Story Production: Rochelle Hoi-Yiu Kwan
In English with Chinese subtitles
Inspired by the incredible work and foundation laid by Basement Workshop and Yellow Pearl 50 years ago, we brought together friends and artists across generations to premiere the third short film for the “Ode to our Generations” series with musician and “artivist”, Nobuko Miyamoto.
These two pieces are a part of Think!Chinatown’s An Ode to Our Generations series, which pays tribute to the generations of artist-activists in Chinatown of the past and present. In 1972, the collective known as Basement Workshop in Chinatown, NYC published the art book Yellow Pearl. Originally meant to illustrate the music of Chris Iijima, Nobuko Miyamoto, and Charlie Chin, Yellow Pearl grew into a 57 page compilation of writing, art, and music by over 30 Asian American artists.
Chinatown Shopping for Fuzhou Eats with Yuhua & Jinmei
Executive Producer: Yin Kong | Story Producer & Editor: Hai-Li Kong | Producer & Translator: Alice Liu
In Mandarin with English subtitles
The Chinatown Shopping series celebrates the diversity of the Chinese diaspora found in Manhattan’s Chinatown through the lens of everyday kitchen ingredients. Aunty Chen and Aunty Lian, opera singers from Fujian, take us through the familiar streets of Chinatown to discover all the best Fuzhounese goodies.
A Song for Ourselves
Director: Tadashi Nakamura
In English
A Song for Ourselves is an intimate journey into the life and music of Asian American Movement troubadour Chris Iijima.
Forbidden City, U.S.A (excerpt)
Director: Arthur Dong
In English
It was the swinging 30s. The big bands of the 40s. It was San Francisco night life Baghdad by the Bay. And the crowds were packing the nation's premiere all-Chinese nightclub, Forbidden City. Like the Cotton Club of Harlem which featured America's finest African American entertainers, Forbidden City gained an international reputation with its unique showcase of Chinese American performers in eye-popping all-American extravaganzas. Part That's Entertainment and part PBS, Forbidden City, U.S.A. captures this little-known chapter of entertainment history and takes it center stage.