Documentary filmmaking, storytelling focus of Nov. 9-10 residency
Curtis Chin
The University of Central Arkansas will host award-winning author and filmmaker Curtis Chin for a two-day residency Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 9-10, featuring events that will focus on documentary filmmaking, storytelling and the experiences of Asian American communities.
“I’m so excited that celebrated author, filmmaker and convener Curtis Chin is coming to our campus as an Artist in Residence,” Dr. Zach Smith, associate professor in the Department of History, said. “His warm, witty memoir ‘Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant’ offers a beautiful account of his experience growing up as one of the few Chinese American kids in a largely Black and White neighborhood in Detroit, and I’m thrilled that he will be offering filmmaking and writing workshops that empower UCA students to tell their own stories.”
Chin’s residency, which is being presented in partnership with UCA Student Affairs’ “First 2 Go Week” focused on First Generation College Students, as well as the Center for Asian Languages and Cultures’ Asian and Asian American Speaker Series, will include a class visit with students studying the history of modern China, a film master class on pitching documentaries, a writing workshop, and a public reading and book signing. All events are located on the UCA campus, with student events geared toward specific classes and programs.
The full schedule for Chin’s residency is as follows:
- Monday, Nov. 9, 11 a.m. — Student Event: Class Visit with History of Modern China Students, Irby Hall 114.
- Monday, Nov. 9, 4 p.m. — Student Event: Film Master Class, “How to Pitch Your Documentary with Curtis Chin,” Stanley Russ Hall 103. The event will include screenings of “Dear Corky” (2022, directed by Curtis Chin; 17 minutes) and “Warren King: King of Cardboard” (2025, directed by Curtis Chin; 15 minutes).
- Tuesday, Nov. 10, 1:40 p.m. — Student Event: Writing Workshop, “Telling Our Own Stories at Lavender Library,” McAlister Hall 303.
- Tuesday, Nov. 10, 6 p.m. — Public Event: “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant,” Reading and Book Signing with Curtis Chin, McCastlain Hall Ballroom.
Curtis Chin is the author of the award-winning memoir “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant.” As a co-founder of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop in New York City, Chin served as the nonprofit’s first executive director before moving into comedy writing for network and cable television and later transitioning to social-justice documentaries.
His films have screened at more than 600 venues in 20 countries. Chin has written for CNN, Bon Appétit, the Detroit Free Press and The Emancipator. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, and he has received awards from ABC/Disney Television, the New York Foundation for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, among others. His essay in Bon Appétit was selected for Best Food Writing in America 2023, and his short documentary “Dear Corky” premiered on “American Masters” on PBS. Currently he is working on a new Chinese restaurant project.
More information about the residency is available by contacting Smith at zsmith@uca.edu.