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Defiant Second Daughter

Documentary about Asian American activist, author and educator Betty Lee Sung, based on her memoir Defiant Second Daughter.

  • Ed Moy
    Director
    Aviatrix: The Katherine Sui Fun Cheung Story, Up in the Clouds, Luminaries
  • Ed Moy
    Producer
    Up in the Clouds, Luminaries, Aviatrix: The Katherine Sui Fun Cheung Story
  • Betty Lee Sung
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Web / New Media
  • Genres:
    Documentary, Biography, History
  • Runtime:
    18 minutes
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital Video
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Ed Moy

Ed Moy is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker.

His documentary short film "Aviatrix: The Katherine Sui Fun Cheung Story" received a Congressional Certificate of Recognition for Historical Significance (2017), won Best Documentary in the Asia Web Awards (2017), took home the Audience Award for Short at the Marina Del Rey Film Festival (2016), and garnered a Most Inspirational Short Award at the Culver City Film Festival (2016).

His animated short film "Up in the Clouds" also received a Best Short Animation Award from Asians on Film Festival (Summer 2015).

His short film "Luminaries" recently received the Audience Award for Documentary at the Marina del Rey Film Festival (2017) and won Best Documentary about L.A. Award at the Culver City Film Festival (2017).

As a journalist, he was recipient of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's National Print Media Award for Excellence in Journalism for his series of articles about their Team in Training Programs.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I had the privilege of meeting Betty Lee Sung during a trip to New York's Manhattan Chinatown in 2017.

At age 93, Betty remains a sharp intellectual with a feisty spirit, who continues to advance the causes of Asian American and Chinese American representation in America.

I recorded an oral history interview with Betty in her apartment in Manhattan Chinatown, which I have edited into this documentary short film based on her memoir Defiant Second Daughter.

Betty grew up during the early part of the Great Depression in America, survived the Japanese bombing of Guangdong prior to the start of WWII, became one of the first Chinese American women to graduate from an American University in the 1940s, worked as a script writer for the Voice of America, where one of her programs was focused on Chinese culture in the United States.

While working there, she was struck by how American culture held inaccurate and often stereotypical assumptions about Chinese culture. This inspired her to write her first book, Mountain of Gold: The Story of the Chinese in America.

After publishing Mountain of Gold, she was invited to join Asian American Studies program at CUNY in 1970, where she advanced to the Chair of the Department of Asian Studies. She held this position until her retirement in 1992.

At CUNY, she founded the Asian American/Asian Research Institute, and also became a member of the Committee of 100, an organization committed to addressing Chinese American issues.

In 1994, she completed a database of the Chinese immigrant records in the New York Region National Archives with grants from the Chiang Ching Kuo Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The database was featured by the New York Times, and enables scholars to conduct genealogical research and recreate the early history of Chinese immigrants in New York.

Betty's life story is informative and educational. Her accomplishments are a valuable contribution to the history of Chinese Americans in the United States.

As such, I hope that audiences will find hearing about her life story informative and educational.

Thanks for your time and consideration.

Best regards,
Ed Moy