Gold Rush Heroes Documentary Film Project:
About this Documentary:
In search of a better life for themselves and their families Chinese workers came to America. They built the Transcontinental Railroad, California's fishing industry, farming industry and wine industry. They worked Southern Plantations and worked in the textile mills in Boston. They built Chinatowns across America. But they were denied American citizenship by a Federal law, The Exclusion Act.
Gold Rush Heroes shares the determination, patience and cleverness of generations of Chinese to stay in America. It shares how the Chinese worked around this law, got it repealed, and claimed American citizenship. This documentary shares how their efforts helped build America, and China.
The Film in Preparation Since 2013
Now Seeking Finishing Funds for Editing, Post-Production & Launching
Mr. W. Sunny Leon, producer of Gold Rush Heroes. In the spring of 2014, "Phase One: Production" of this documentary was funded by Mr Sunny Leon and JunJin Kuang, Execultive Producer. They put a total amount of $50,000 to start the project.
Since January 2014, this film has been in production in the United States and China, amassing over 25 hours of on-camera interviews and location shooting in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, Chicago, Indiana, Hong Kong and Taishan, China.
We've also digitized significant amounts of historic materials from Gold Rush, America's first transcontinental railroad and Chinatown archives: photographs, personal and Publich DomainVideos, and voice recordings.
Now we're ready for "Phase Two: Final Editing, Post-Production and Launching" for which this campaign seeks to raise the finishing funds necessary for us to assemble a factually accurate, 46 minutes documentary about how Chinese American came to America with nothing in 1850, and now are masters of their own destiny, achieving leadership in tech, entertainment, & politics...
"PHASE TWO" FUNDRAISING GOAL: $185,000
Assembling this film during the "Final Editing, Post-Production and Launching" phase will be very labor-intensive and even more expensive than the "Production" period. Below are the key budget items for the completion of this film.
HOW WE'LL SPEND THIS MONEY FOR "FINAL EDITING, POST-PRODUCTION & LAUNCHING"
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Editing the film: This is the most time-consuming of the entire project, carefullly assembling the film storyline from photographs, on-camera interviews, old and new film clips, voice recordings, historic newsreel footage, and other resources.
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Finalizing the film script & Reviewing: On-going process throughout the final editing phase to prepare our final script for the film's voice-over narration.
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Voice-over talent: He/She will provide the voice-over narration for the finished film.
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Booking an audio studio: Recording several hours long of the narration for the complete 46 minutes film.
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Music/Color correction/Audio mix: Composing music for tittle video, ending video and recording the music for the entire film. Final color correction for all color visuals in the film. Final audio mix for the entire film based on TV standards in China and United States.
And after all of this is completed:
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Lauching & Promotional expenses: Screenings,travel, printed materials, film festival fees & appearances, etc.
WHY SHOULD YOU DONATE TO THIS FILM PROJECT?
OF WHAT INTEREST IS GOLD RUSH HEROES TO YOU?
Gold Rush Heroes is a film to tell the story of how our ancestors came to America and their contributions to the American History that was untold.
In 1848 San Francisco was a small town of 500 people, by 1851 San Francisco had grown into a town of more than 30,000 people. By 1852, about 85 percent of the 20,000 Chinese who had immigrated to California worked in the mines.
Once they arrived in San Francisco, the Chinese found great success in the mines. Chinese miners often worked together and would pool their profits to buy mines others had given up on. They used damming techniques developed in China in order to control the flow of water, which in turn helped speed up the the digging and sifting process.
In the 1850’s doing laundry was considered “women’s work” however there were few women in the mining community. The mining camps were filled with men who had no time or desire to do laundry after a long day of mining. Chinese immigrants saw this need and opened up their own laundries. Chinese laundrmats were a common profession even in the 1940s.
This month (May, 2016) marks 147 years since the final spike was hammered into the transcontinental railroad, an achievement made possible by Chinese laborers, who did the majority of this backbreaking and dangerous work.
From the gold rush of the 1850’s to present day, the Chinese
immigrant sought for something better. This most recent wave of Chinese
immigration and assimilation still follow that familiar theme, how do we
improve our lives? And the answer is to seek out better opportunities wherever
they may be.
And though I feel my family’s immigration story is rather
typical. I marvel at the what history tells us. Through it all, the Chinese
immigrant in America having had their struggles while facing prejudicial
treatment, still embarked on this journey. By doing this, the Chinese immigrant
has helped build a nation’s infrastructure, had a hand in creating farming and
agricultural industries, and more recently made an impact in fields of
technology, arts and politics. A vast majority of Chinese immigrants created a
better life for themselves and their families. This is not a unique trait found
only in one race or heritage, but rather the most common trait of humanity.
Maybe a single story is not special, but the collective story is. By taking the
risk of leaving home for a better life, a journey of a thousand miles truly
begins with a single step.
Sunny Leon, Producer (front right) and Marc Rita, Director (back left)
About Director:
Marc Rita has been an Asian American actor/director in Chicago theater since the 1980s. Marc was fortunate to be part of the Chicago theater community when it rose to international prominence as a theater town during that time. He recently directed, Thailand Kitchen of the World, which was broadcast on PBS/WTTW Chicago and on PBS/TPT Minnesota in 2015. Marc has performed as an actor in Chicago, LA and regional theaters. He was one of the co-founders of Chicago's first Asian American theater company, MinaSama-No. Marc has worked extensively with the Asian American community in and around Chicago, directing and emceeing events and cultural performances.
About Producer:
Sunny Leon is
the founder of Suncast Network, Inc., and IPTV Company since 2006. His
professional background is in business and technology, and his domestic and
international experience serve as valuable assets to the creation of this
documentary film. Mr. Leon has been
responsible for raising seed money, staffing an experienced management team, production team, starting up the operation and maintaining good public relations. Mr. Leon has
seen great success in his entrepreneurial endeavors. Mr.
Leon has also owned a well-established telecommunications retail business. It began as a small start-up retail store and grew into a $5 million
business within five years.
He recently won a production contract with Thai’s government to produce 8 episodes of Thailand
Kitchen of the World. Under his leadership, the cooking show made it to broadcast
on PBS/WTTW/TPT. He also worked with Sean
McKee, Emmy nominated composer, and
Jon Anderson, the original singer of YES, to create Opening Title music for the film.
About Writer:
Joe Yau is an actor, writer and director with twenty years
of experience. He is currently
understudying the role of The Kralahome in Lyric Opera’s production of The King
and I. He is an original member of
Stir-Friday Night!, Chicago’s Asian American comedy troupe and is currently an
ensemble member of A-Squared Theatre Workshop.
His writing credits include “Thailand: Kitchen of the World”, starring
world class chef Arun Sampanthavivat (8 episodes) and “Gold Rush Heroes”, a documentary
on Chinese immigration to the United States.
Other projects Joe is working on include an untitled screenplay and a
stage play adaptation.