Filmmaker’s Lounge: Screening with Q&A | de Young

Submitted by the Event Organizer

Filmmaker’s Lounge with Kevin Epps , screening: You Don’t Know Jack: The Jack Soo Story and Q&A with director Jeff Adachi – FREE

You Don’t Know Jack tells the fascinating story of a pioneering Asian-American actor Jack Soo, an Oakland native who starred in the popular comedy show Barney Miller (1975–1978).

Featuring rare footage and interviews with Soo’s co-stars and friends, the film traces Soo’s early beginnings as a nightclub singer and comedian, to his breakthrough role as Sammy Fong in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Broadway play and film version of The Flower Drum Song.

The film also explores why Soo, a former internee who was actually born Goro Suzuki, was forced to change his name in the post–World War II era, in order to perform in clubs in the Midwest. Because of his experiences, throughout his career in films and television, Soo refused to play roles that were demeaning to Asian Americans and often spoke out against negative ethnic portrayals.

Directed by Jeff Adachi, whose award-winning film The Slanted Screen premiered at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival in 2006, You Don’t Know Jack reveals how Jack Soo’s work laid the groundwork for a new generation of Asian American actors and comedians.

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