To Whom It May Concern: Ka Shen's Journey
Encyclopedia
To Whom It May Concern: Ka Shen's Journey is a 2009 docudrama
about actress Nancy Kwan
. Directed and written by former Warner Bros.
executive Brian Jamieson
, the film depicts Kwan's meteoric rise to fame when she was selected to star in the 1960 film The World of Suzie Wong
and the 1961 film Flower Drum Song
. In an era when Caucasians played the Asian roles in Hollywood, Kwan's achievement was groundbreaking. The film portrays Kwan's being cast for inconspicuous roles after her early success.
To Whom It May Concern was filmed in locations in several countries, including Cambodia
, Hong Kong
, and the United States. In Cambodia's 12th-century temple Angkor Wat
, Kwan grapples with the death of her son, Bernie Pock
, from AIDS
at the age of 33 in 1996.
The film is being screened in film festivals internationally. It was awarded "Best Feature Documentary" by American International Film Festival and WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival. Reviewers praised the documentary for its judicious use of archival footage and poignant interviews with Kwan. Several reviewers characterized the clips of Kwan's watching "The World of Suzie Wong" as unnecessary and unpolished.
's, Brian Jamieson, an executive at the home entertainment division of Warner Bros.
, started to examine her life while his company was deciding whether to re-release four of Kwan's films. As a youth in New Zealand
, Jamieson watched movies in which Caucasian actors portrayed Asian characters. Pondering why studios made this decision, he was absorbed by how Kwan became the first Asian lead in a Hollywood film. Saying that he viewed "a story here that was bigger than the sum of its parts", he decided to create the documentary.
The film's title, To Whom it May Concern: Ka Shen's Journey, is a reference to two elements in Kwan's life. The greeting "to whom it may concern" is a connection to a crucial phrase in the 1960 film The World of Suzie Wong
, in which Kwan starred. The subtitle alludes to Kwan's childhood Chinese name, Ka Shen. The film was shot in multiple countries. Several scenes in the film are filmed in Cambodia
at its 12th-century temple complex Angkor Wat
. Some scenes were shot in Hong Kong, and others in San Francisco, Los Angeles
, and Kansas City
. The film's international sales rights were purchased by New York-based Locomotive Distribution.
According to the World Journal
, Chinese people, who are bound by traditional ideas, frequently delay treatment for AIDS
. Monterey, California
, city councilman Mitchell Ing, stated that Kwan, whose son died of AIDS, hopes that the issue will gain more exposure when people watch the film.
. Her family members and companions in her youth were interviewed in Hong Kong
.
Born to a Chinese architect and a Scottish model, Nancy Kwan was more interested in dancing than acting. In her adolescence, she attended the Royal Ballet School
in London. After returning to Hong Kong from London, she mingled with people who were in a fervor that Hollywood's The World of Suzie Wong
would be filmed there. Following the withdrawal from contention of France Nuyen
, who played Suzie Wong on Broadway
, Kwan auditioned for the role, clinching it. Producer Ray Stark
had noticed Kwan while she was watching the auditions and asked her to do a screen test.
Actress Joan Chen
and film producer Bey Logan
commented about Kwan's impact on the film industry for Asian actors. In an era when Caucasian actors played Asian roles because studios doubted Asians could achieve comparable success to whites at the box office, Kwan shattered the glass ceiling
. When Kwan was cast in the lead role for the 1961 Flower Drum Song
, she seemed to be in an era in which Asian actors were embraced. The entire cast was Asian. However, the time of Asian actors being cast in prominent roles proved fleeting. In the late 1960 to 1980s, she was able to land only a string of inconspicuous roles in films and TV series, such as the The Wrecking Crew
, Kung Fu (TV series)
, Hawaii Five-O
, and The A-Team
. In 1972, Kwan returned to Hong Kong to assist in caring for her sick father. Remaining in Hong Kong for ten years, she not only continued acting but also became a producer.
Director Brian Jamieson transitions from Kwan's stardom to her absolute love for her son, Bernhard Pock
. Pock became a "poet, martial artist and stuntman". In 1995, he directed Rebellious, a small-budget film in which Kwan had a leading role. To Whom It May Concern depicted Nancy Kwan contending with the heartbreaking death of her son, Bernie, in 1996 at the age of 33. Pock had been infected with HIV
from his girlfriend. He pleaded to his mother to visit and comfort his ailing girlfriend. Kwan said: "He asked me to go (help her) and I went. I did it for my son." Kwan was initially reluctant to talk about her son's death. Taking her to Cambodia
on a spiritual trip, where she strode around the ruins of Angkor Wat
, Jamieson convinced her to talk about the disheartening experience.
characterized the film as "solid if pedestrian". He praised the film's use of footage from Hong Kong wartime events as "well researched", but stated that the "awkward cutaways" of Kwan's attending Hong Kong Ballet
's adaptation of The World of Suzie Wong should have been excised. Opining that the section about the death of Bernhard Pock, Kwan's son, is "tainted by an unhealed bitterness", he characterized Kwan's and Meisel's statements about Pock's wife as "rais[ing] more questions than they answer" and contaminating an "otherwise affectionate portrait". Sophia Dembling of the Dallas Observer
agreed with Edwards that she preferred "fewer uncomfortably close shots" of Kwan's attending the Hong Kong Ballet adaptation. Dembling also wrote that the footage of Hong Kong before and during war was "fascinating" and that scenes from Kwan's movies and interviews were "interesting".
Katelan Cunningham wrote in District Quarterly, a quarterly magazine published by Savannah College of Art and Design
, that despite the film's convincing her to see Kwan's initial films, it "did not do justice to Kwan". She criticized the film for being "hurried and at times haphazard", making the 104 minutes "laboriously long".
AsianWeek
s Gregory Wong wrote that the documentary was a "very moving story" about Kwan's rise to stardom. Calling the film a "compelling and rousing journey" through Kwan's life, Tanya Mohajerani of Cinequest Film Festival
praised its "vivid detail" in depicting both the happiness and trials Kwan faces. Actor and writer Jack Ong
was engrossed by the film, writing that despite his having watched it many times, To Whom It May Concern is "such a satisfying, interesting and beautiful documentary that I definitely plan to watch it again and again". After watching the film at its premiere in Hong Kong, director Li Qiankuan, who chairs the China Film Association, told the audience: "I just saw this wonderful movie, and I'm very touched." Addressing Kwan, who was in attendance, he said, "You're a great movie star, but even more, you're a great mother with heart and courage."
. Kwan attended the premiere, sitting in a front-row seat and shedding tears because, she said, "I'm still emotional". When she rose to speak to the attendees, they gave her a thunderous ovation. In April 2010, the film was screened at the Asia Premiere in Hong Kong and Singapore International Film Festival
, as well as at the 2010 Kansas International Film Festival. The film was shown at the Hawaii International Film Festival
on October 16, 2010, to a full theater.
On June 22, 2010, the documentary was screened at Texas Theatre
, where director Jamieson was in attendance to answer questions. On October 30, 2010, the film was screened by Lions Clubs International
at Victoria, British Columbia
. Kwan attended the screening, where Jo-Ann Roberts of CBC Radio One
facilitated a question-and-answer session with her. The Chinese American Museum
screened both the documentary and The World of Suzie Wong
at the AMC Monterey Park on May 22, 2011.
American Film Institute
screened the film at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre
on August 11, 2011, and showed the Flower Drum Song
to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Kwan's catapult to stardom. Kwan attended the screening and answered questions posed to her by the audience. To Whom It May Concern is being screened in the United States and international film festivals. In October 2011, the film was screened at the San Diego Asian Film Festival
.
Docudrama
In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
about actress Nancy Kwan
Nancy Kwan
Nancy "Ka Shen" Kwan is a Eurasian-American actress, who played a pivotal role in the acceptance of actors of Asian descent in major Hollywood film roles...
. Directed and written by former Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
executive Brian Jamieson
Brian Jamieson (director)
-Career:Jamieson is from New Zealand.Jamieson first entered the film industry with the New Zealand branch of Warner Bros. in 1977. He was later transferred to the United Kingdom. After his success publicizing Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Peter Yates' The Deep, he was...
, the film depicts Kwan's meteoric rise to fame when she was selected to star in the 1960 film The World of Suzie Wong
The World of Suzie Wong (film)
The World of Suzie Wong is a 1960 British-American romantic drama film directed by Richard Quine. The screenplay by John Patrick was adapted from the stage play by Paul Osborn, which was based on the novel of the same title by Richard Mason...
and the 1961 film Flower Drum Song
Flower Drum Song (film)
Flower Drum Song is a 1961 film adaptation of the 1958 Broadway musical Flower Drum Song, written by the composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The film and stage play were based on the 1957 novel of the same name by the Chinese American author C. Y...
. In an era when Caucasians played the Asian roles in Hollywood, Kwan's achievement was groundbreaking. The film portrays Kwan's being cast for inconspicuous roles after her early success.
To Whom It May Concern was filmed in locations in several countries, including Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, and the United States. In Cambodia's 12th-century temple Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu,...
, Kwan grapples with the death of her son, Bernie Pock
Bernhard Pock
Bernie Pock , son of actress Nancy Kwan, had many film credits, primarily as a stunt actor . Bernie died of AIDS at the age of just 33. Bernie's mother Nancy published a book in 1997 entitled Celebration of a Life - Memories of My Son...
, from AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
at the age of 33 in 1996.
The film is being screened in film festivals internationally. It was awarded "Best Feature Documentary" by American International Film Festival and WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival. Reviewers praised the documentary for its judicious use of archival footage and poignant interviews with Kwan. Several reviewers characterized the clips of Kwan's watching "The World of Suzie Wong" as unnecessary and unpolished.
Background and production
A fan of Nancy KwanNancy Kwan
Nancy "Ka Shen" Kwan is a Eurasian-American actress, who played a pivotal role in the acceptance of actors of Asian descent in major Hollywood film roles...
's, Brian Jamieson, an executive at the home entertainment division of Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, started to examine her life while his company was deciding whether to re-release four of Kwan's films. As a youth in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Jamieson watched movies in which Caucasian actors portrayed Asian characters. Pondering why studios made this decision, he was absorbed by how Kwan became the first Asian lead in a Hollywood film. Saying that he viewed "a story here that was bigger than the sum of its parts", he decided to create the documentary.
The film's title, To Whom it May Concern: Ka Shen's Journey, is a reference to two elements in Kwan's life. The greeting "to whom it may concern" is a connection to a crucial phrase in the 1960 film The World of Suzie Wong
The World of Suzie Wong (film)
The World of Suzie Wong is a 1960 British-American romantic drama film directed by Richard Quine. The screenplay by John Patrick was adapted from the stage play by Paul Osborn, which was based on the novel of the same title by Richard Mason...
, in which Kwan starred. The subtitle alludes to Kwan's childhood Chinese name, Ka Shen. The film was shot in multiple countries. Several scenes in the film are filmed in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
at its 12th-century temple complex Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu,...
. Some scenes were shot in Hong Kong, and others in San Francisco, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
. The film's international sales rights were purchased by New York-based Locomotive Distribution.
According to the World Journal
World Journal
World Journal is a daily Chinese language newspaper serving overseas Chinese in North America. The newspaper has its headquarters in Whitestone, Queens, New York City....
, Chinese people, who are bound by traditional ideas, frequently delay treatment for AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. Monterey, California
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
, city councilman Mitchell Ing, stated that Kwan, whose son died of AIDS, hopes that the issue will gain more exposure when people watch the film.
Synopsis
The film largely proceeds chronologically with Kwan serving both as the person being interviewed and as the narrator. Her colleagues in Hollywood were generally interviewed in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Her family members and companions in her youth were interviewed in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
.
Born to a Chinese architect and a Scottish model, Nancy Kwan was more interested in dancing than acting. In her adolescence, she attended the Royal Ballet School
Royal Ballet School
The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London...
in London. After returning to Hong Kong from London, she mingled with people who were in a fervor that Hollywood's The World of Suzie Wong
The World of Suzie Wong (film)
The World of Suzie Wong is a 1960 British-American romantic drama film directed by Richard Quine. The screenplay by John Patrick was adapted from the stage play by Paul Osborn, which was based on the novel of the same title by Richard Mason...
would be filmed there. Following the withdrawal from contention of France Nuyen
France Nuyen
France Nuyen is a French actress.-Biography:Nuyen was born in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. Her mother was French, her father Vietnamese. During World War II, her mother and grandfather were persecuted by the Nazis for being Gypsies...
, who played Suzie Wong on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, Kwan auditioned for the role, clinching it. Producer Ray Stark
Ray Stark
Ray Stark was an American film producer and powerbroker known for his Machiavellian ways.While putting together the Broadway musical Funny Girl - the highly fictionalized account of the life of his mother-in-law, Fanny Brice - its producer David Merrick took Stark and his wife to see an unknown...
had noticed Kwan while she was watching the auditions and asked her to do a screen test.
Actress Joan Chen
Joan Chen
Joan Chong Chen is a Chinese American actress, film director, screenwriter and film producer. She became famous in China for her performance in the 1979 film Little Flower and came to international attention for her performance in the 1987 Academy Award-winning film The Last Emperor...
and film producer Bey Logan
Bey Logan
Bey Logan is a respected expert on East Asian cinema, particularly Hong Kong action cinema. He is also notable as a screenwriter, film producer and as a martial artist who has had roles in a number of films, including the 2003 Dante Lam film The Twins Effect.He has written two books - Hong Kong...
commented about Kwan's impact on the film industry for Asian actors. In an era when Caucasian actors played Asian roles because studios doubted Asians could achieve comparable success to whites at the box office, Kwan shattered the glass ceiling
Glass ceiling
In economics, the term glass ceiling refers to "the unseen, yet unbreachable barrier that keeps minorities and women from rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, regardless of their qualifications or achievements." Initially, the metaphor applied to barriers in the careers of women but...
. When Kwan was cast in the lead role for the 1961 Flower Drum Song
Flower Drum Song (film)
Flower Drum Song is a 1961 film adaptation of the 1958 Broadway musical Flower Drum Song, written by the composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The film and stage play were based on the 1957 novel of the same name by the Chinese American author C. Y...
, she seemed to be in an era in which Asian actors were embraced. The entire cast was Asian. However, the time of Asian actors being cast in prominent roles proved fleeting. In the late 1960 to 1980s, she was able to land only a string of inconspicuous roles in films and TV series, such as the The Wrecking Crew
The Wrecking Crew (1969 film)
The Wrecking Crew, released in 1969 and starring Dean Martin, Elke Sommer, and Sharon Tate is the fourth and final film in a series of American comedy-spy-fi theatrical releases featuring Martin as secret agent Matt Helm....
, Kung Fu (TV series)
Kung Fu (TV series)
Kung Fu is an American television series that starred David Carradine. It was created by Ed Spielman, directed and produced by Jerry Thorpe, and developed by Herman Miller, who was also a writer for, and co-producer of, the series...
, Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
, and The A-Team
The A-Team
The A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit". The A-Team was created by...
. In 1972, Kwan returned to Hong Kong to assist in caring for her sick father. Remaining in Hong Kong for ten years, she not only continued acting but also became a producer.
Director Brian Jamieson transitions from Kwan's stardom to her absolute love for her son, Bernhard Pock
Bernhard Pock
Bernie Pock , son of actress Nancy Kwan, had many film credits, primarily as a stunt actor . Bernie died of AIDS at the age of just 33. Bernie's mother Nancy published a book in 1997 entitled Celebration of a Life - Memories of My Son...
. Pock became a "poet, martial artist and stuntman". In 1995, he directed Rebellious, a small-budget film in which Kwan had a leading role. To Whom It May Concern depicted Nancy Kwan contending with the heartbreaking death of her son, Bernie, in 1996 at the age of 33. Pock had been infected with HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
from his girlfriend. He pleaded to his mother to visit and comfort his ailing girlfriend. Kwan said: "He asked me to go (help her) and I went. I did it for my son." Kwan was initially reluctant to talk about her son's death. Taking her to Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
on a spiritual trip, where she strode around the ruins of Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu,...
, Jamieson convinced her to talk about the disheartening experience.
Critical reception
Russell Edwards of VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
characterized the film as "solid if pedestrian". He praised the film's use of footage from Hong Kong wartime events as "well researched", but stated that the "awkward cutaways" of Kwan's attending Hong Kong Ballet
Hong Kong Ballet
The Hong Kong Ballet is Hong Kong's leading professional ballet company, and also the famous group for Classical Ballet, since it founded in 1979....
's adaptation of The World of Suzie Wong should have been excised. Opining that the section about the death of Bernhard Pock, Kwan's son, is "tainted by an unhealed bitterness", he characterized Kwan's and Meisel's statements about Pock's wife as "rais[ing] more questions than they answer" and contaminating an "otherwise affectionate portrait". Sophia Dembling of the Dallas Observer
Dallas Observer
The Dallas Observer is a free alternative weekly newspaper distributed around the Dallas, Texas . At its inception, it was conceived as a weekly local arts and cinema review publication, with the credo "Advocate for Excellence in the Arts" on the cover. For a time during the early years, the paper...
agreed with Edwards that she preferred "fewer uncomfortably close shots" of Kwan's attending the Hong Kong Ballet adaptation. Dembling also wrote that the footage of Hong Kong before and during war was "fascinating" and that scenes from Kwan's movies and interviews were "interesting".
Katelan Cunningham wrote in District Quarterly, a quarterly magazine published by Savannah College of Art and Design
Savannah College of Art and Design
SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design, is a private, accredited and degree-granting university with locations in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia, Hong Kong, and Lacoste, France.-History:...
, that despite the film's convincing her to see Kwan's initial films, it "did not do justice to Kwan". She criticized the film for being "hurried and at times haphazard", making the 104 minutes "laboriously long".
AsianWeek
AsianWeek
AsianWeek was a widely circulated publication of Asian American news, across all Asian ethnic groups, providing coverage of Asian-American issues such as the killing of Vincent Chin, Asian American college admissions, and quotas on Chinese students in competitive San Francisco examination schools...
s Gregory Wong wrote that the documentary was a "very moving story" about Kwan's rise to stardom. Calling the film a "compelling and rousing journey" through Kwan's life, Tanya Mohajerani of Cinequest Film Festival
Cinequest Film Festival
The Cinequest Film Festival is an annual independent film festival held in San Jose, California. The festival highlights the work of new film makers....
praised its "vivid detail" in depicting both the happiness and trials Kwan faces. Actor and writer Jack Ong
Jack Ong
Jack Ong is an American actor, writer, activist and marketing professional.-Early life:Ong was born in Mesa, Arizona, the sixth of seven children of Chinese immigrant parents, Kam Fong and Jeung Shee Ong. His family owned and operated a small grocery store, where he received an early education in...
was engrossed by the film, writing that despite his having watched it many times, To Whom It May Concern is "such a satisfying, interesting and beautiful documentary that I definitely plan to watch it again and again". After watching the film at its premiere in Hong Kong, director Li Qiankuan, who chairs the China Film Association, told the audience: "I just saw this wonderful movie, and I'm very touched." Addressing Kwan, who was in attendance, he said, "You're a great movie star, but even more, you're a great mother with heart and courage."
Screenings
To Whom It May Concern premiered in 2009 at the Women in Film and Television Association Film Festival. On March 22, 2010, it debuted to an approaching capacity in Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition CentreHong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre is one of the two major convention and exhibition venues in Hong Kong, along with AsiaWorld-Expo. It is located in Wan Chai North, Hong Kong Island. Built along the Victoria Harbour, it is linked by covered walkways to nearby hotels and commercial...
. Kwan attended the premiere, sitting in a front-row seat and shedding tears because, she said, "I'm still emotional". When she rose to speak to the attendees, they gave her a thunderous ovation. In April 2010, the film was screened at the Asia Premiere in Hong Kong and Singapore International Film Festival
Singapore International Film Festival
The Singapore International Film Festival was launched in 1987. The festival is an annual film event, held around April/May each year, and screens about 300 films from over 45 countries...
, as well as at the 2010 Kansas International Film Festival. The film was shown at the Hawaii International Film Festival
Hawaii International Film Festival
The Hawaii International Film Festival is a film festival held in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It was started in 1981 by Jeannette Paulson Hereniko and has been held annually in the fall for two weeks...
on October 16, 2010, to a full theater.
On June 22, 2010, the documentary was screened at Texas Theatre
Texas Theatre
The Texas Theatre is a movie theater and Dallas Landmark located in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, Texas. It gained historical fame for being the place Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of President John F. Kennedy and Dallas police officer J. D. Tippit, was arrested after a brief fight...
, where director Jamieson was in attendance to answer questions. On October 30, 2010, the film was screened by Lions Clubs International
Lions Clubs International
Lions Clubs International is a secular service organization with over 44,500 clubs and more than 1,368,683 members in 191 countries around the world founded by Melvin Jones Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, United States, the organization aims to meet the needs of communities on a local and...
at Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
. Kwan attended the screening, where Jo-Ann Roberts of CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
facilitated a question-and-answer session with her. The Chinese American Museum
Chinese American Museum
The Chinese American Museum is a museum located in Downtown Los Angeles as a part of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument. It is dedicated to the history and experience of Chinese Americans in the state of California, first such museum in Southern California...
screened both the documentary and The World of Suzie Wong
The World of Suzie Wong
The World of Suzie Wong is a 1957 novel written by Richard Mason. The main characters are Robert Lomax, a young British artist living in Hong Kong, and Suzie Wong, the title character, a Chinese woman who works as a prostitute...
at the AMC Monterey Park on May 22, 2011.
American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
screened the film at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre
Grauman's Egyptian Theatre
Grauman's Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California, is one of the world's most famous movie theatres. Opened in 1922, it was the venue for the first-ever Hollywood premiere.- History :...
on August 11, 2011, and showed the Flower Drum Song
Flower Drum Song (film)
Flower Drum Song is a 1961 film adaptation of the 1958 Broadway musical Flower Drum Song, written by the composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The film and stage play were based on the 1957 novel of the same name by the Chinese American author C. Y...
to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Kwan's catapult to stardom. Kwan attended the screening and answered questions posed to her by the audience. To Whom It May Concern is being screened in the United States and international film festivals. In October 2011, the film was screened at the San Diego Asian Film Festival
San Diego Asian Film Festival
The San Diego Asian Film Festival is an annual event organized by the San Diego Asian Film Foundation. The festival was first held in 2000 at the University of San Diego by the Asian American Journalists Association of San Diego.-Organization Overview:...
.