Contemporary Asian Theatre Scene (CATS) is excited to present the 9th Annual Silicon Valley Asian Pacific Film Festival (SVAPFF), which begins today!
CATS has curated 6 highly-anticipated feature films, documentaries and shorts for the in-person screenings at the Sunnyvale AMC Dine-In Theatre on October 20-22, along with 70+ films to view online (on-demand from October 20-29) — a wide variety of films that will make you laugh, cry, and even learn more about AAPI cultures.
Announcing the premiere screening of “Drawn from Life: The Creative Legacy of Flo Oy Wong” at SVAPFF 2023!
“Drawn from Life: The Creative Legacy of Flo Oy Wong” is our first professionally produced film, and what an amazing journey it has been!
We are grateful for the invaluable support provided by CATS and SVAPFF to create this special gift in celebration of Flo Oy Wong’s 85th birthday. We are so excited to see our short film on the big screen!
Sunday’s Local Legends Film Program is now sold out, but you can still watch Drawn From Life: The Creative Legacy of Flo Oy Wong and Sunday’s fantastic line up of short films through the SVAPFF 2023 “Celebrating Communities and Discovering Untold Stories” digital package. Watch SVAPFF 2023 online – “Celebrating Communities and Discovering Untold Stories” – 15 Short Films for $7!
As the sixth daughter of Chinese immigrants living in Oakland’s Chinatown in the 1940s-1960s, FLO OY WONG was determined to break free of a life of pre-destined invisibility. She began her art career at the age of forty. Her poetry career started at seventy-five. Now eighty-five, her life comes full circle when The Community Rejuvenation Project proposes to paint a mural at 723 Webster, the former site of her family’s restaurant, The Great China. Flo’s beginnings in Oakland’s Chinatown come to life once more— this time through the eyes of another artist.
We’d like to thank the many people whose contributions helped to bring this short film to light.
Thanks to generous support from Contemporary Asian Theatre Scene, AARP, and Friends of CATS, we have been able to document Flo’s involvement in the 723 Webster Mural Project. We are so excited to share Drawn from Life: The Creative Legacy of Flo Oy Wong with audiences at SVAPFF 2023 and beyond. Whether you made a donation to CATS, bought a ticket to the October 22 screening, or told a friend about the film, we are grateful for your support.
Thank you to William Wong and Nellie Wong, for sharing their insights on their sister’s “fighting spirit” and to Diana Argabrite, Director of the Euphrat Museum of Art for shining a light on Flo’s artistic legacy. We are most grateful to Ed Wong for his dedicated efforts to record and preserve Flo’s artwork over the years. What a truly wonderful moment it was when Ed found the set of archival slides documenting Flo’s Oakland Chinatown drawings, created between 1938 – 1991.
A mural-sized thank you to the 723 Webster Mural Project team: Muralist Desi Mundo of the Community Rejuvenation Project, Roy Chan, Director of the Oakland Chinatown Oral History Project, Denise Chinn of 723 Webster Street and Jack Chen, owner of Imperial Soup in Oakland’s Chinatown. Their collaborative initiative on behalf of Oakland Chinatown is so inspiring! Please support Oakland Chinatown’s Legacy Businesses!
A deep bow of respect for the many artists who supported this project by generously sharing their creative contributions and light – Thanks to multimedia journalist Juan Carlos Guerrero; filmmaker/director Allie Light; musicians Kenneth Nash, Del Sol Quartet, and Marcus Shelby, who celebrated Flo’s 75th birthday with Gwah Gai: Crossing the Street in 2013 and crosses the street once again with his musical contribution in 2023!
A giant tip of the cap to our Director of Photography and Editor Chris Wong for his keen eye and steady camera! A big hug of forever gratitude to Leianne Wong Lamb for her encouragement and guidance throughout the entire film-making process.
We hope that this film conveys our collective love and respect for our dear friend Flo Oy Wong, who continues to have the courage to follow her creative impulses and the tenacity to realize her dreams. Through her art and poetry, Flo attends to the beauty in the every day; she finds dignity in the details. How lovely to behold Oakland Chinatown – past, present and future – through her eyes.
Happy 85th Birthday, Flo! See you at the movies!
For more about the film, visit: https://flooywong.ddns.net/flo-oy-wong-film/
