Far East Deep South

Discover The Past You Never Knew

2020

76 mins

Purchasing Options

Find on Kanopy

Watch Film

A Chinese American family’s search for their roots leads them to the Mississippi Delta, where they stumble upon surprising family revelations and uncover the racially complex history of early Chinese immigrants in the midst of segregation and the Chinese Exclusion Act era.

Its intimate, as-it-happened cinéma-vérité style draws you in, and soon this family trip takes the twists and turns of a compelling detective story. A surprising, sobering history lesson, it is painfully relevant.

Peter Keough

The Boston Globe

Synopsis

Far East Deep South sheds light on the history of Chinese immigrants in the American South and the discrimination they faced during the late 1800s to mid-1900s through the emotional journey of Charles Chiu and his family as they travel from California to Mississippi to find answers about Charles’ father, K.C. Lou. With the help of local residents and historians, the family learns about the interconnected relationship between the Black and Chinese American communities in the Jim Crow era and the impact of restrictive immigration policies that kept their family apart for generations. Through a series of stunning discoveries at the Mississippi Delta Chinese Heritage Museum and the National Archives, the Chiu family also uncover how deep their roots run in America. This unforgettable story offers a poignant perspective on race, immigration, and American identity.

The film features notable leaders, authors and historians such as U.S. Congressmember Judy Chu, Dr. Gordon Chang, Dr. Jane Hong, Dr. John Jung, Dr. Robert Voss, Tyree Boyd-Pates and Past National President of Chinese Americans Citizens Alliance, Carolyn Chan.

* Available with English, Spanish, Chinese (traditional and simplified) subtitles

Reviews

A good film for general audiences but especially good for high school and college classroom use. The film provides a solid introduction on the history of Asian American & Pacific Islander racism and the lasting, generational harm it has and continues to cause. This film is highly recommended for academic and public collections.

Educational Media Reviews Online

Awards and Screenings

Telly Award, 2022

America Reframed - PBS/World Channel Broadcast Premiere, 2021

CAAMFest - Documentary Audience Award, 2020

Cinequest Film Festival - Documentary Audience Award, 2020

Seattle Asian American Film Festival - Grand Jury Winner, 2021

Women Texas Film Festival - Best Feature Film, 2020

Oxford Film Festival - Best Mississippi Feature Film, 2020

Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival - Documentary Audience Award, 2020

Coronado Island Film Festival - Best Documentary, 2021

CineOdyssey Film Festival - Best Documentary, 2021

Film Fatales/Cinemarket Cannes Showcase Winner, 2021

Chinese Railroad Workers Descendants Association 150th Anniversary Golden Spike Conference - Feature Film Award

Newport Beach Film Festival - Official Selection, 2020

Los Angeles Asian American Pacific Film Festival - Official Selection, 2020

Carrboro Film Festival - Centerpiece Film, 2020

Asian American International Film Festival - Official Selection, 2020

Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival - Official Selection, 2020

Smithsonian History Film Forum Emerging Filmmakers Lab

Grant Recipient of Mississippi Humanities Council

Colorado Dragonboat Film Festival - Official Selection, 2021

-Phoenix Film Festival - Community Spotlight Film, 2021

South Arts - Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers, 2021

Best Documentaries of List - Video Librarian, 2021

Best of World Channel List, 2021

Director Commentary

Growing up in California, I wanted to be blond and blue-eyed and I struggled with my identity as the daughter of Chinese immigrants. I always felt like I wasn't American enough yet I also wasn't Chinese enough. However, it wasn't until after learning about Baldwin Chiu's Chinese American family in Mississippi, that I learned more about the important contributions of early Chinese immigrants in the American South. I became a filmmaker so I could educate audiences about the role of the early Asians in American history seldom discussed in classrooms and media. I hope this will create better cross-cultural understanding and promote racial equity. So often we keep our stories to ourselves out of fear, embarrassment, or pain in rehashing the past. But it's our stories that make us human and should unite us all as immigrants or descendants of immigrants. I hope to inspire others to share their family stories and document their roots. With so many misconceptions about immigrants, I feel that this film will broaden people’s view of what it means to be American and helps to overcome racial bias. The long-term goal is that this film will help reshape how U.S. history is taught in schools so that it is more inclusive of Asians and other groups traditionally omitted from textbooks.

- LARISSA

Features and Languages

Film Features

Audio Description
Closed Captioning
All4Access
Director's Commentary
DVD Extras
Subtitles
Resources for Educators

Film/Audio Languages

English
Chinese

Subtitle/Caption Languages

English
Chinese
Spanish

Promotional Material

Promotional Stills

Resources for Educators

File Downloads

Far East Deep South Discussion Guide (pdf) file download (1.61 MB)

Baldwin Chiu

Baldwin Chiu is a Chinese American award-winning film producer and hip hop artist known by the stage name, “Only Won - The Lyrical Engineer” who transitioned from a professionally licensed engineer to now using entertainment media to educate and inspire positive change.

Contact Filmmaker View Profile

Larissa Lam

Larissa Lam is a Chinese American award-winning director and music artist from Diamond Bar, CA who loves to empower, inspire and educate others through arts and media.

Contact Filmmaker View Profile