Finding Kukan Trailer: The Untold Story of a Female Filmmaking Pioneer

At a time when Hollywood has come particularly under fire for its lack of diversity behind the scenes or representational stories on screen, it’s important to note the untold stories of pioneers that paved the way for people today. Robin Lung’s new documentary “Finding Kukan” investigates the case of Li Ling-Ai, the uncredited female producer of “Kukan,” a landmark color film that revealed the atrocities of World War II China to American audiences, and was the first American documentary to receive an Oscar in 1942. Using rare and unseen archival footage, “Finding Kukan” examines why Ling-Ai remains unknown to the world. Watch the exclusive trailer for the film below and check out the poster as well.

Lung made her directorial debut in 2008 with “Washington Place: Hawai‘i’s First Home,” a 30-minute documentary for PBS Hawai‘i about Hawai‘i’s historic governor’s mansion and home of Queen Lili‘uokalani. She was also the associate producer for the PBS documentary “Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority,” about the first woman of color and Asian American woman to be elected to Congress. She has also produced and directed numerous short documentaries for the Historic Hawai‘i Foundation.

“Finding Kukan” will premiere on Tuesday, November 15 at 5:30 p.m. at Cinepolis Chelsea in New York City as a part of DOC NYC. It will also screen at the IFC Center on November 16 at 12:45 p.m.