About this project
TEASER TRAILER FOR BREATHIN': THE EDDY ZHENG STORY!
FILM SYNOPSIS
After serving over 20 years behind bars for a robbery he committed at age 16, Chinese American community leader Eddy Zheng now faces deportation to China, a huge loss to the Bay Area community. Released from prison in 2007, Eddy has dedicated his life to preventing youth violence and delinquency through his work at the Community Youth Center, Community Response Network, and many other SF Bay Area programs and organizations.
BREATHIN’: THE EDDY ZHENG STORY is a documentary about one of the most visible Asian American leaders to emerge from the prison system. Providing a complex and honest portrayal of its subject, the film will highlight a critical human rights issue facing the U.S. today: the alarming increase of Asian immigrants and refugees being incarcerated and deported.
This project will share Eddy’s personal journey from immigrant youth to politicized prisoner, and ultimately valued mentor and community leader as he faces pending deportation to a land he has not known for over 30 years. BREATHIN’ will feature footage of Eddy’s work in youth violence prevention and prisoner support efforts, as well as candid interviews with Eddy and his close circle. The film will share his personal struggle toward redemption and reveal the complicated fate ahead for the growing population of Asian immigrants and refugees in prison.
ASIAN AMERICANS IN PRISON
The U.S. currently imprisons over 2.3 million people, making it the world’s leading jailer. Contrary to notions of a "model minority," the Asian and Pacific Islander American prison population grew 250% between 1990 and 2000. Unfortunately for many immigrants, all “non-citizen aliens” who commit an aggravated felony or crime of moral turpitude are mandatorily deportable, even if they immigrated to the U.S. legally or with refugee status. Between 1998 and 2006, there was a 61.6% rise in total deportations of people of Asian nationalities. Despite the growing trend of incarceration and deportation for many Asian Americans, these individuals have largely remained invisible in public policy, media, and in their own communities.
YOUR PLEDGE WILL HELP SUPPORT...
Your support will enable us to pay for critical production costs including equipment and supplies, payment of technical crew, permits, and transportation. Driven by the filmmakers' passion and commitment to share Eddy's story with the public, this project relies on the support of the community. Please consider donating to this project and as a token of our gratitude you'll receive some cool rewards! You can also help us out by sharing this link on your Facebook and telling your friends about the project. With your support, we can tell Eddy's story and raise awareness about the growing impact of the prison industrial complex on Asian American communities.
RELATED LINKS:
SF Weekly: http://www.sfweekly.com/2002-06-05/news/throwing-away-the-key/
East Bay Express: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/eastbay/the-last-stand-of-eddie-zheng/Content?oid=1078670
Hyphen Magazine: http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/magazine/issue-14-spaces/inside-men
For more information:
email: eddyzhengstory@gmail.com
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Eddy-Zheng-Story/251322981559649
FAQ
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211
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$16,480
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on October 1.
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Acknowledgment in film credits and all of the above
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Digital download of the finished film and all of the above
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DVD of the finished film and all of the above
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Private Sneak Preview Screening of the film and all of the above
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Signed copy of Eddy’s unpublished, original poetry + signed copy of “Other: an API Prisoners’ Anthology,” a book that Eddy and the Director co-edited, and all of the above
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Dinner and karaoke with Eddy, the Director, and Producer of the film, and all of the above
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A pair of tickets to the World Premiere of the film and all of the above
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Associate Producer credit and all of the above
Project By
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Ben Wang, Director/Producer
Ben Wang is a Japanese-Chinese American documentary filmmaker who grew up in Sacramento and currently resides in Oakland, California. Wang is the Co-Director/Producer of the feature documentary AOKI, a film chronicling the life of Richard Aoki (1938-2009), a third-generation Japanese American who became one of the founding members of the Black Panther Party. Wang is the co-chair of the Asian Prisoner Support Committee, and co-edited “Other: an API Prisoners’ Anthology.” He currently works at Asian Health Services in Oakland.
Christine Kwon, Producer
Christine Kwon is the Managing Director of the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival at the Center for Asian American Media. She graduated from UC San Diego, where she most notably assisted with Jean-Pierre Gorin’s tribute to film critic Manny Farber. With a focus on film programming and an interest in youth development, Christine initiated SFIAAFF’s Student Delegate Program in 2008, as well as the CAAMbassador program in 2010. She is also the Associate Producer of the feature film YES WE’RE OPEN, dir. Rich Wong.
Deann Borshay Liem, Executive Producer
Deann Borshay Liem has been working in the field of media for over twenty years. She is Producer, Director, and Writer for the Emmy Award-nominated First Person Plural and Co-Executive Producer for Spencer Nakasako’s Kelly Loves Tony and AKA Don Bonus. She served as Co-Producer for Special Circumstances, Executive in Charge for Blessed Is the Match, and Executive Producer for On Coal River. She was also the former Executive Director of the National Asian American Telecommunications Association. A Sundance Institute Fellow and a recipient of a Rockefeller Film/Video Fellowship, Deann’s latest film, In the Matter of Cha Jung Hee, had its broadcast premiere on PBS in September 2010.
