Robert Stringfellow, Nashville Christian Family, May, 2025.
What we learned through making the film “Sight” that may be beneficial to Chinese Americans who also want to share their stories
How a national “Telling Our Stories” movement, unprecedented in U.S. history, was created in 2023-2024 involving 50,000 Chinese Americans, 500 free Sight film shows(FREE link: sight.drmingwang.com) and across 40 states in North America, resulting in the FIRST first-generation Chinese American immigrant story film that gained wide North America release (in 2,118 theaters, with U.S. domestic box office of $7.2 million), and what have we learned in this historical movement about how we can inspire more Chinese Americans to stand up, speak out and tell our stories in the future?
WHY I made the film Sight – to inspire all Chinese Americans to tell our stories
I was born in Hangzhou, China in 1960, and suffered through the Cultural Revolution. However, I was eventually fortunate to be accepted into the University of Science and Technology of China in 1978 and in 1982, I came to America with only $50 to my name. I obtained a PhD in laser physics from the University of Maryland and an MD (magna cum laude) from a joint program through Harvard Medical School and MIT. The film “God’s Not Dead” featured my journey of becoming a Christian. In 1997, I was recruited as the director of Vanderbilt University Laser Sight Center and in 2002, I established Wang Vision Institute. The following year, Wang Foundation for Sight Restoration was created to help blind orphan children and other charity patients from around the world. I have published 10 textbooks on various laser eye surgeries, and I have performed over 55,000 procedures (including on over 4,000 doctors). The amniotic membrane contact lens, which I invented and later donated its patents to the world, has become a $5 billion per year technology that has transformed the world, with millions of patients being helped.
I had a dream that Chinese Americans will be able to improve our social statues and respect in America by being more willing to stand up, speak out and tell our stories, about the contribution that we have made to America. So, I have decided to tell my stories first, so I can encourage all other Chinese Americans to tell their stories, so we all tell our stories. Though there are many Chinese Americans who have done far better job than me, but we are all too quiet. In 2015 I wrote my autobiography “From Darkness to Sight” about my journey as a Chinese American immigrant, which was later made into the film “Sight” by Open River Studios, produced by David Fischer and Darren Moorman, and written and directed by Andrew Hyatt.
“Chinese American films must have “gongfu” and ancient dynasties; otherwise, no one will want to see them.”
After nearly 10 years it took to make the film (2014-2024), “Sight” was rejected by all of the top 10 Hollywood film distributors, both digital (such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon) and theatrical (such as Sony, etc.), with the explanation that “for a Chinese American film to be successful in America, it has to have gongfu and/or an ancient dynasty.”
So similar to other failed attempts in the past by first-generation Chinese Americans who told their stories without succumbing to the Hollywood stereotype of their culture, “Sight” may very well fail as well, and unfortunately be buried with them.
“Chinese Americans will not amount to anything, since in the history of American cinema, unlike African Americans and Latino Americans, Chinese Americans have never had the track record of proactively supporting their own films,” the Hollywood studios concluded.
“Will Chinese Americans support their own stories in films?”
We as Chinese Americans work hard in this country and have made significant contributions to America; however, we are too silent. Although we are good problem-solvers and stay in the trenches diligently working and contributing, in Western societies, if we don’t tell people what these contributions to America are, people won’t know. Hence, we need to not only do what we say, but we must also say what we do!
I have a dream that one day all races and ethnicities–particularly Asian Americans and Chinese Americans–will enjoy true respect and equal status as full-fledged Americans without prejudice and stereotype in social, political and media capacities. We are Americans, after all; we are Americans with Chinese heritage, so this is as much our country as anyone else’s!
Can my Chinese American dream ever come true? Will we as Chinese Americans, for the first time in the U.S., stand up and tell our stories and also proactively support films that tell our stories?
A “Sight” national tour: creating a national movement.
On 4/13/2023 I went to NY to receive an Outstanding Chinese American Award, and while there, I met an amazing woman, Dr. Jeannie Yi, who shared my Chinese American dream and invited me to come back to NY to show “Sight” to her friends and Chinese American social influencers on 5/18/23. The NY “Sight” world premier ignited the flame.
Subsequently, supported by many friends including Matt Zhang, Jing Forrest, Randi Shu, Xinghui Tang and Wen Wang, and many of my schoolmates from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), we started a formal “Sight” film national tour in NY, Chicago, NJ, PA, MD, VA, DC and FL. In July 2023, Kate Wu, Sean Li, Walter Zhao, Jiansheng Huang, Liyan Zhang, Winnie Knapp, Yongmei Yang, Qun Li, Xiaoyan Zhang, Li Tong, Chaterine Liu, Pastor Kaibin Fu, Ed Wu, Rong Qi, Pastor Bingbin Mo, Pastor Ronlda Zhang, Eric Li, Sherry Li, Tianhong Shi, Max Li, Jenny Gu, Lisa Gray, Rachel Mitchell, Hoseph He, Linnhui Wang, Sunday Wu, Leanne Wang, Michael Lin, Hui Lu, Jiliang Gao, Xaioaofend Zhang, Yan Yang, Sarah Luo, Emily Wu, Xialzhe Yan, Wenbin Yuan, Angela Zeng, Hong Chen, Gang Lu, Min Chen, Ming-yu Wang, Liangjie Dong, Wei Wu, Hongbing Liu, Yaowu Tang, Saichang xu, Chin Shiau, Chao Li, Ed Wu, Dan Guo, Jenny Gu, Piere Wang, Joseph He, Xiaofeng Zhang, Pastor Mark Chen, Emily Wu, Xiaozhe Yan, Leo Leung and over a thousand coordinators and volunteers joined us, with Kate serving as our national “Sight” tour coordinator.
For an entire year, I would work Monday through Thursday at Wang Vision Institute in Nashville, TN, and then each Friday, my wife Anle and I would get up at 3am, she would drive me to the airport, I would land in a North American state where I would conduct 5 film and testimonial shows, and then fly back to Nashville the following Monday morning. It was a herculean, unimaginable, unthinkable and almost inhuman effort. Everywhere I went, I showed the film and then talked about its messages, i.e., we as Asian Americans, and Chinese Americans in particular, need to stand up and tell our stories. Even though many Asian Americans have done a far better job than what I have done, we are all too quiet. By telling my story, I want to inspire others to tell their stories, and eventually we will all tell our stories. Also, the story of my invention of the amniotic membrane contact lens that is featured in “Sight” shows that faith and science can indeed work together. So, the “Sight” national tour is helping us to tell our story, and tell Jesus’ story as well.
Why did I make such this nearly impossible effort? Well, I have learned that extraordinary goals and dreams require extraordinary efforts.
FOLLOW THIS STORY IN OUR JUNE ISSUE – “ONE MAN’S DREAM”, PART TWO
Leona Walthorn
Dr. Ming Wang, Harvard & MIT (MD); UMD (PhD, laser physics), Subject of the film “Sight” (FREE link: sight.drmingwang.com), Director, Wang Vision Institute; CEO, Aier-USA,1801 West End Ave, Ste 1150, Nashville, TN, 37203, 615-321-8881
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., www.drmingwang.com, wechat: ballroom123
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