Golden Gate Girls
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Country/Region:
Hong Kong
Release Year: 2013
Release Year: 2013
Story:
Esther Eng (1914-1970) was once known as "the only Chinese-American female director in Hollywood". Early in her life, she made a name for herself in both Hong Kong and Hollywood. In the 1950s, she opened a prestigious Chinese restaurant in New York City. Also, she was an openly gay woman. Using her two surviving films, dozens of stills, hundreds of photographs from her album, interviews with her family and friends, and newsreels of San Francisco's history, director Louisa Wei recreates the life and times of Esther Eng. I first knew Esther Eng in 2001 when conducting my research on Chinese female directors. Studying female directors was because, when I was a student, I strongly felt that women were always forgotten when history was written, especially when film history was written. Finding the stories of these women thus became the direction of my career. In 2009, when I happened to get over 600 personal photos and stills of Esther Eng, it suddenly occurred to me that I could make a documentary about her. Her career and life is not only an important case in Hong Kong film history, but also provokes a lot of thoughts among us. I tried to dig deeper into the materials about Esther Eng and found four factors that contributed to her success. First of all, her first co-production, Heartaches, with its patriotic subject matter, helped establish her image as a patriotic filmmaker in Hong Kong before the full outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Secondly, the English and Chinese coverage of Heartaches filmed in Hollywood, allowed her to make her directorial debut, and the success of it went on to bring her more opportunities. Lastly, upon her return to the United States in the fall of 1939, she recruited numerous actresses stranded in North and Central America by the war and continued to make Cantonese films in the 1940s. Fourteen years of her life were devoted entirely to filmmaking. At the time of her death, however, many people knew her only as a restaurant owner. When reconstructing Esther Eng’s life, I was deeply moved by the fact that she crossed the ocean several times, while constantly pushing various boundaries. To bring her vivid image to today's audience, the film has undergone nine major changes, which are also nine attempts at historical writing.
Esther Eng (1914-1970) was once known as "the only Chinese-American female director in Hollywood". Early in her life, she made a name for herself in both Hong Kong and Hollywood. In the 1950s, she opened a prestigious Chinese restaurant in New York City. Also, she was an openly gay woman. Using her two surviving films, dozens of stills, hundreds of photographs from her album, interviews with her family and friends, and newsreels of San Francisco's history, director Louisa Wei recreates the life and times of Esther Eng. I first knew Esther Eng in 2001 when conducting my research on Chinese female directors. Studying female directors was because, when I was a student, I strongly felt that women were always forgotten when history was written, especially when film history was written. Finding the stories of these women thus became the direction of my career. In 2009, when I happened to get over 600 personal photos and stills of Esther Eng, it suddenly occurred to me that I could make a documentary about her. Her career and life is not only an important case in Hong Kong film history, but also provokes a lot of thoughts among us. I tried to dig deeper into the materials about Esther Eng and found four factors that contributed to her success. First of all, her first co-production, Heartaches, with its patriotic subject matter, helped establish her image as a patriotic filmmaker in Hong Kong before the full outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Secondly, the English and Chinese coverage of Heartaches filmed in Hollywood, allowed her to make her directorial debut, and the success of it went on to bring her more opportunities. Lastly, upon her return to the United States in the fall of 1939, she recruited numerous actresses stranded in North and Central America by the war and continued to make Cantonese films in the 1940s. Fourteen years of her life were devoted entirely to filmmaking. At the time of her death, however, many people knew her only as a restaurant owner. When reconstructing Esther Eng’s life, I was deeply moved by the fact that she crossed the ocean several times, while constantly pushing various boundaries. To bring her vivid image to today's audience, the film has undergone nine major changes, which are also nine attempts at historical writing.
Casts & Crews:
S. Louisa Wei
Directors
Runtime:
90
minutes
Language:
Subtitles:
Chinese, English
Festivals & Awards:
2013 Hong Kong International Film Festival, Hong Kong 2013 Women Make Waves International Film Festival, Taiwan 2013 San Diego Asian Film Festival, United States 2013 Shenzhen Fringe Arts Festival, China 2014 Helsinki Cine Aasia, Finland 2014 CAAMFest, United States Intra-Cultural Spotlight Award, 2014 DC Chinese Film Festival, United States 2014 Beijing Queer Film Festival, China 2014 Paris International Lesbian & Feminist Film Festival, France 2014 China Women’s Film Festival, China 2015 Shanghai International Film Festival, China
2013 Hong Kong International Film Festival, Hong Kong 2013 Women Make Waves International Film Festival, Taiwan 2013 San Diego Asian Film Festival, United States 2013 Shenzhen Fringe Arts Festival, China 2014 Helsinki Cine Aasia, Finland 2014 CAAMFest, United States Intra-Cultural Spotlight Award, 2014 DC Chinese Film Festival, United States 2014 Beijing Queer Film Festival, China 2014 Paris International Lesbian & Feminist Film Festival, France 2014 China Women’s Film Festival, China 2015 Shanghai International Film Festival, China
Tags:
Overseas Chinese, Movie, Female, History
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Casts & Crews
S. Louisa Wei
Director
