©All is Well Pictures
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Imagine spending nearly twenty years making a movie, then think about what was involved with filmmaker Jennifer Takaki trying to tell the story of Chinese-American photographer Corky Lee, a true hero of the Asian-American community for decades due to his activism in covering important issues. These issues range from inclusion of the Chinese contribution to the nation’s railroad to the events surrounding COVID that led to violence against Asian-Americans. Lee was there to photograph these events, making him an integral part in boosting the importance Asians have had to building this country.
Takaki spent many years trailing Lee in order to learn and tell his story, and the results are Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story, a documentary that will be rolling out in a few theaters in New York City and L.A. before airing on PBS on May 13, just in time for Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
CinemaDaily US spoke with Ms. Tataki over Zoom last week to learn more about Corky Lee, and her work figuring out the best way to tell his story before he died tragically in early 2021.
©All is Well Pictures
Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story opens at the Firehouse DCTV Cinema in Chinatown, New York, starting on Friday, April 19, and then will open at the Laemmle Glendale on April 26, before its debut on PBS in May.
Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story: For 50 years, Chinese American photographer Corky Lee documented the celebrations, struggles, and daily lives of Asian American Pacific Islanders with epic focus. Determined to push mainstream media to include AAPI culture in the visual record of American history, Lee produced an astonishing archive of nearly a million compelling photographs. His work takes on new urgency with the alarming rise in anti-Asian attacks during the Covid pandemic. Jennifer Takaki’s intimate portrait reveals the triumphs and tragedies of the man behind the lens.
- Genre: Documentary
- Original Language: English
- Director: Jennifer Takaki
- Producer:
- Release Date (Theaters): Apr 19, 2024 NYC
- Runtime: 87 minutes
- Distributor: All is Well Pictures in Association with Ford Foundation, and Scandobean Productions
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Here’s the trailer for the film: