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 Women's History Month 2026
-
Tangled Roots
Directed by Heidi Schmidt Emberling • Documentary • 2001 • 66 minutes
Through intimate interviews with both her Jewish relatives in America and her German Lutheran relatives abroad, the director discovers a rich family tapestry spanning three continents, shaped by war, courage, prejudice, and fe...
-
Leona's Sister Gerri
Directed by Jane Gillooly • Documentary • With Leona Gordon, Gerri Santoro, Joyce Carboni • 1995 • 57 minutes
For Geraldine Santoro and so many women like her, the barriers to obtaining a safe, legal abortion were insurmountable and in 1964 the legal and the social system did not protect her. Th...
-
Googoosh: Iran's Daughter
Directed by Farhad Zamani • Documentary • 2000 • 158 minutes
Googoosh was Iran's most famous and beloved pop diva, until she was silenced following the 1979 Islamic revolution when female singers were labeled “temptresses” and forbidden to release records or perform publicly in the presence of m...
1 Comment