Back to All Events

Screening of "Journey of a Paper Son"

  • CAMOC 238 West 23rd Street Chicago, IL, 60616 United States (map)

Join the Chinese American Museum of Chicago and filmmaker Ming Lai for a special screening of "Journey of a Paper Son," which explores the rippling effects of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 through the eyes of one man and his family.

"JOURNEY OF A PAPER SON" WAS AN OFFICIAL SELECTION OF A DOZEN NATIONAL FILM FESTIVALS AND WON THE "BEST SHORT FILM GOLD ANGEL AWARD" AT THE CHINESE AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL.

SYNOPSIS
In "Journey of a Paper Son," an elderly Chinese man (Jack Ong), who's dying from cancer, shocks his family when he reveals that he's a "paper son" (one who illegally immigrated to the U.S., using fake documents and claiming he's the son of an American citizen) and asks them for a final wish to change back his name. His request threatens to tear apart his family (Patty Toy Chung, Angelina Cheng, Teddy Chen Culver), testing the limits of their love. Meanwhile, his doctor (Mario Cortez) desperately tries to save him. We discover that he's just one of countless "paper sons" who were born from the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the first federal law to restrict immigration to the U.S. based on race or nationality.

Click here for the trailer: https://youtu.be/fPTX-hBRe9Y

Previous
Previous
May 19

Chinese American Museum of Chicago 17th Benefit Dinner

Next
Next
June 2

What does it mean to be Chinese in America?