Directed by Robin Lung • Documentary • 2017 • 75 minutes
Kukan, a landmark color film that documented Chinese resistance to the Japanese invasion of China in the early days of World War II, was the first ever American feature documentary to receive an Academy Award® in 1942. When Robin Lung discovers a badly damaged film print of the “lost” Kukan, she pieces together the inspirational tale of the two renegades behind the making of it -- Chinese American playwright Li Ling-Ai and cameraman Rey Scott. Through a dynamic mix of verite, archival, and re-enactment footage, Finding Kukan creates an unforgettable portrait of a female filmmaking pioneer, and sheds light on the long history of racial and gender discrimination behind the camera, which continues to reverberate in Hollywood today.
Up Next in August's Top 30 Films
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My Motherland (w/ Fanny Ardant)
Directed by Benoît Cohen • Drama • With Fanny Ardant, Nawid Elham, Pierre Deladonchamps • 2025 • 91 minutes
Celebrated actress Fanny Ardant stars as “France”, a well-to-do widow living alone in her Parisian apartment. When she hears on the radio that an NGO is pairing homeless refugees with thos...
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An Act of Conscience
Directed by Robbie Leppzer • Documentary • With Martin Sheen, Randy Kehler, Pete Seeger • 1997 • 90 minutes
How far are you willing to go to stand up for your deepest beliefs? For Randy Kehler and Betsy Corner of Colrain, Massachusetts, their life-long commitment to pacifism led them to risk los...
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Youth (Hard Times)
Directed by Wang Bing • Documentary • 2024 • 226 minutes
YOUTH (HARD TIMES) is the second installment in Chinese director Wang Bing’s monumental series chronicling the lives of migrant garment workers — some as young as 15 — in the Zhili district of Huzhou City. Wang immerses himself in the live...
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