In Nice Chinese Girls Don’t, Kitty Tsui recounts her emergence as a poet, artist, activist, writer, and bodybuilder in the early days of the Women’s Liberation Movement in San Francisco. She narrates her experience of arriving to the States as an immigrant from Hong Kong by way of her own original poetry and stories.
Tsui wrote the groundbreaking Words of a Woman Who Breathes Fire, the first book written by an Asian American lesbian. She is considered by many to be one of the foremothers of the API, Asian Pacific Islander, lesbian feminist movement.
In 2018, APIQWTC, Asian Pacific Islander Queer Women & Transgender Community honored her with the Phoenix Award for lifetime achievement. In 2019, her alma mater, San Francisco State University inducted Tsui into the Alumni Hall of Fame. Her forthcoming books include Nice Chinese Girls Don’t, Battle Cry: Poems of Love & Resistance, and Fire Power: Poems of Love & Resilience. Tsui currently lives in Oakland, California, and is writing a screenplay, Unmasked.
"A personal manifesto and intimate portrait of a pioneering Asian American role model who was decades ahead of her time." Donald Young, Director of Programs Center for Asian American Media (CAAM)
"I enjoyed it immensely. Inviting us into Kitty's past and present through her own words was brilliant." Karen Yin, writer, editor
"Kitty Tsui's poetry and "On Our Backs" covers are iconic contributions to Asian American lesbian history. I am delighted that there is a film that finally gives this important figure her due as an Asian American lesbian and that also deals with the subject of aging." Eve Oishi, Associate Professor of Cultural Studies, School of Arts and Humanities, Claremont Graduate University
Citation
Main credits
Abod, Jennifer (film director)
Abod, Jennifer (film producer)
Abod, Jennifer (screenwriter)
Tsui, Kitty (on-screen participant)
Other credits
Cinematography, Aubree Bernier-Clarke; editing, Danielle Elliott, Jennifer Abod.
Asian American; Gender; LGBTQI; Feminism; Literature; Poetry
Keywords
Asian American,Sexuality,Freedom,Activism,Women's Rights,Stereotypes,Woman Who Breathes Fire,Kitty Tsui,lesbian,LGBTQ,poet,poetry,Asian Pacific Islander,APIQWTC,San Francisco State University,Women’s Liberation Movement,San Francisco; "Nice Chinese Girls Don't: Kitty Tsui"; Women Make Movies
Distributor: Women Make Movies
Length: 20 minutes
Date: 2019
Genre: Expository
Language: English / English subtitles
Grade: College, Adults
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
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