Focusing on the Asian and Asian American experience
TEN TIMES BETTER
BEYOND YELLOWFACE
BEETHOVEN IN BEIJING
Films
SHANGHAI FAITHFUL
BEETHOVEN IN BEIJING
Books
“A dance pioneer's amazing odyssey.”
— New York Times
Ten Times Better
From ballet to Broadway to blackjack, George Lee of Las Vegas has seen it all in his 89 years, but never had his moment to shine. Until now. This short documentary elevates George’s contribution to dance, including originating the Chinese role in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker and working with director Gene Kelly in Flower Drum Song. Plans are underway for a national PBS broadcast of the film, which has been featured in the New York Times and AARP magazine.
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“Beyond Yellowface will impact dancers for generations to come.”
— Sarah Wroth, chair of Indiana University’s ballet department.
Beyond Yellowface
This feature-length documentary spotlights Phil Chan and Georgina Pazcoguin, two NYC dancers of Asian descent who founded the Final Bow for Yellowface movement to jettison offensive Asian stereotypes, including dancing in yellowface, from classical ballet. The pair is taking on entrenched tradition and political pushback as they shine a critical spotlight on The Nutcracker and other beloved classics like La Bayadere in this vivid account of cultural missteps and creative evolution.
“Captivating!”
— The Wall Street Journal
Beethoven in Beijing
Beethoven in Beijing explores the Philadelphia Orchestra’s China legacy—from its historic 1973 tour as cultural diplomats to today’s collaborations with virtuosos like pianist Lang Lang and composer Tan Dun. The film premiered nationally on PBS’s Great Performance.
“A thoroughly gripping historical personal narrative.”
— Connie Chung, broadcaster
Shanghai Faithful
Betrayal and Forgiveness in a Chinese Christian Family
No project has meant more to me as a first-generation Asian American than my family memoir. I go back five generations to explore the illuminating odyssey of the Lin family. You will experience the history of modern China through the triumphs and travails of my relatives.
How to purchase: Amazon | Rowman & Littlefield
“An ode to joy.”
— Orville Schell, author
Beethoven in Beijing
Stories from the Philadelphia Orchestra’s historic journey to China
After creating the documentary Beethoven in Beijing, I had so much more to report about the historic 1973 tour of the Philadelphia Orchestra to China. This oral history is the most in-depth treatment of this groundbreaking moment in U.S.-China history.
How to purchase: Amazon | Temple University Press
About Jennifer Lin
My Chinese heritage has shaped my work as a reporter, author and filmmaker. After three decades at The Philadelphia Inquirer, including a posting as a foreign correspondent in Beijing in the 1990s, I started a new chapter, focusing my attention on books and films about the Asian and Asian American experience.
In 1949, my father boarded one of the last boats out of Shanghai, joining the great diaspora of Chinese people seeking a new life in the United States. There, he met an Italian-American nurse from Camden, N.J., where rowhouse neighbors craned their necks from windows when a “Chinaman” came calling.
For my recent film projects—BEYOND YELLOWFACE and TEN TIMES BETTER—I am partnering with producers Jon Funabiki and Cory Stieg. Jon and I go back decades when we were both newspaper reporters covering Asia. And Cory, a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, was a serious “bunhead” (aka ballerina) in her youth and happens to be my daughter.
In the past decade, I’ve traveled the world to share my stories—from the history of the Lin family to the groundbreaking 1973 tour of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the pioneering work of Asian American dancers.
Send me an email if you’d like to explore hosting a talk or screening and hearing more about my work as an AAPI filmmaker and author.
Press & Talks
TEN TIME BETTER in New York Times
BEYOND YELLOWFACE Zoom chat with dancer Phil Chan
BEETHOVEN IN BEIJING interview on Sinica Podcast
SHANGHAI FAITHFUL talk National Committee on US-China Relations
BEETHOVEN IN BEIJING book launch at Free Library of Philadelphia
6ABC: Filmmaker Jennifer Lin focuses documentary lens on the arts
