''Who Killed Vincent Chin?'' is a 1987 American

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

produced and directed by

Christine Choy Christine Choy (born 1952) is a Chinese-American filmmaker. She is known for codirecting '' Who Killed Vincent Chin?'', a 1988 film based on the murder of Vincent Jen Chin. Early life Choy was born in Shanghai, China as Chai Ming Huei to a ...

and Renee Tajima-Peña that recounts the

murder of Vincent Chin Vincent Jen Chin ( zh, first=t, t=陳果仁; May 18, 1955 – June 23, 1982) was an American draftsman of Chinese descent who was killed in a racially motivated assault by two white men, Chrysler plant supervisor Ronald Ebens and his stepson, l ...

. It was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

. It was later broadcast as part of the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

series '' POV''. In 2021, the film was selected for preservation in the United States

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Overview

On a summer night in Detroit, two white autoworkers fatally beat Vincent Chin, a 27-year-old Chinese engineer, with a baseball bat. The film tracks the incident from the initial eye-witness accounts through the trial and its repercussions for the families involved, and the American justice system at large. After an outcry from the Asian American community, led by Vincent's mother Lily Chin, the case becomes a

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

Supreme Court case. The case ends with tried killer

Ronald Ebens Ronald Madis Ebens (born October 30, 1939) is an American criminal. Ebens, with his stepson Michael Nitz as an accomplice, murdered Vincent Chin, a Chinese American man, on June 19, 1982. This led to a federal indictment for violating Chin's c ...

' being let go with a suspended sentence and a small fine.

Awards

Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award The Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award honors excellence in broadcast and digital journalism in the public service and is considered one of the most prestigious awards in journalism. The awards were established in 1942 and administered ...

, Silver Baton (1991) *Hawaii International Film Festival, Best Documentary Award (1988) *Academy Awards, Best Documentary Feature Nominee (1989)

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0096440, title=Who Killed Vincent Chin?
''Who Killed Vincent Chin?''
at '' POV''
''Who Killed Vincent Chin?''
at Filmakers Library 1987 films 1987 documentary films American documentary films Documentary films about Asian Americans Films about Chinese Americans Documentary films about racism in the United States 1980s English-language films 1980s Mandarin-language films Documentary films about Detroit Documentary films about the automotive industry Films set in Detroit Culture of Detroit United States National Film Registry films Chinese-language American films 1980s American films

Overview

Awards

See also

References

External links