Family Legend

For 100 years, the plot of the first Asian American film was indecipherable. With missing reels and no intertitles, The Curse of Quon Gwon went largely ignored. Until now.

In 1916, twenty-year-old Marion Wong wrote and directed The Curse of Quon Gwon, the earliest example of an Asian American film. What initially appears to be a story about a Chinese family cursed for allowing Western influence through the door, proves to be an illuminating examination of cultural diaspora years ahead of its time. Sandwiched between two global pandemics, this documentary follows the Wong family descendants as they secure The Curse of Quon Gwon its place in film history and new revelations rise to the surface.