Esther Eng: Pioneering Filmmaker and Feminist

Description

Even before the lights dimmed for the 1936 world premiere of Sum Hun, known also as Heartaches, the audience was ready for a unique experience: watching the first motion picture made in Hollywood with only Chinese actors portraying Chinese characters, produced and directed by Chinese filmmakers. Equally extraordinary, one of its producers was a woman, Esther Eng, who would make film history again and again for the next dozen years as the only female producing and directing Chinese-language films anywhere.