Chinese American – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

SPOTLIGHT May 2026: Anna May Wong, Chinese-American Actress and Global Cultural Icon

May 1, 2026May 2, 2026 Leslie Combemale anna may wong, asian american, China War Relief, Chinese American, Daughter of Shanghai, dragon lady, my china film, Philip Ahn, Searching for Anna May Wong, The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsog

Anna May Wong is compulsively watchable. The more you learn about her, the more inspiring and fascinating she is. Hollywood is hard, no matter who you are, but for people of color, finding success in Hollywood starring on the big screen has historically been nearly impossible. That makes Anna May Wong’s rise and longevity all the more impressive. As the first Chinese American Hollywood star to gain international recognition, she was a pioneer and trailblazer, carving out a path for Asian actors during an era of extreme racism and systemic exclusion. Straightforward, famously kind, incredibly talented, determined, and whip smart, she was a global cultural icon. Her perseverance and grace in the face of prejudice inspired future generations of Asian American performers in theater, and in front of and behind the camera.

Festivals Reviews

DIDI (Sundance FF 2024) – Review by Julia Swift

January 23, 2024January 28, 2024 Julia Swift asian american, Chinese American, DIDI, fremont california, Sean Wang, Sundance FF 2024, Sundance Labs

Writer/director Sean Wang and I were both raised in California. He grew up in Freemont, a suburb of San Francisco. He gets California. But he also gets people. He knows how to externalize what is going on in everyday interactions that makes me feel seen. If you look at us both, we don’t seem at all similar – different gender identity, ethnicity, age. That is the power of film, the power of art. Didi is for anyone who made it through the summer before high school. We were all on the edge of making decisions that we were told would last a lifetime. Wang brings us right back there, but this time we have a friend, so we don’t feel so alone.