Justin Lin Presents

A.K.A. DON BONUS

USA 1995 | 57mins | Video Color

In Person: Directors Spencer Nakasako, Sokly Ny and Nathan Adolfson, with guest programmer/filmmaker Justin Lin

After escaping the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, the Ny family became one of thousands of refugees faced with resettlement in the U.S. Their lives unfold through the lens of this stirring video diary. As 18-year-old Sokly Ny (a.k.a. Don Bonus) struggles to graduate from high school, his family is harassed in the housing projects, his eldest brother cannot fill a dead father's shoes and his youngest brother ends up in a youth prison. Sokly shares these experiences, his personal feelings and his hopes as the year progresses. The winner of a prestigious Emmy Award, A.K.A. DON BONUS is a story of triumph and survival from the perspective of one of America's newest arrivals.

Preceded by:

PASSING THROUGH

USA/South Korea 1998 | 37mins | Video Color | English & Korean w/E.S.
DIRECTOR: Nathan Adolfson EDITOR: Justin Lin
Fresh out of college, Adolfson—a Korean adoptee from Coon Rapids, Minnesota—returns to his birthland. An absorbing account of how cultural barriers can stimulate rather than hinder personal growth, PASSING THROUGH looks at a unique demographic coming of age.

"I first saw A.K.A. DON BONUS at the SFIAAFF in 1995. I remembered watching it and being moved and excited to see not only a unique perspective and experience but also a style and aesthetic I had never seen before. You must remember that this was made before the reality TV craze. Most documentaries I had seen were either shot on film or high-end video. The grainy handheld aesthetic gave it a genuine approach and the trust between the filmmaker and his subject was also quite evident. Its unapologetic tone was refreshing and empowering and made me re-evaluate the meaning of the Asian American voice. Four years later, when I was editing Nathan Adolfson's documentary PASSING THROUGH, BONUS's sensibility, sincerity and trust were an enormous influence."

—Justin Lin