vincent who?

A lot of people are talking about Vincent Who?, a documentary film directed by Tony Lam and produced by Curtis Chin, about the historic Vincent Chin hate crime case and its impact on our community. The film takes a look back at the facts of the murder and trial, but more importantly, it examines how the case has shaped and changed the Asian Pacific American community since then. In many ways, it acts and serves as a follow-up, 25 years later, to Christine Choy and Renee Tajima's landmark documentary Who Killed Vincent Chin?—a film that changed my life. If you haven't seen it, I strongly suggest seeking it out.

As for Vincent Who?, you probably won't have to look so hard—it'll probably be making the rounds on the festival circuit in the next year. I got a look at an early cut of the film not too long ago, and I think it's an important effort, especially given the clueless looks of the students interviewed in the film's opening scene (shown in the trailer above). A generation removed, have people forgotten about the legacy of Vincent Chin?

Vincent Who? will screen later this month, on April 19, as part of the 2008 Chicago Asian American Showcase. To learn more about the film, go here.