HONOLULU (KHON2) – As more celebrities come to Hawaii through film and television productions, locals have the opportunity to meet some of their favorite actors, writers and directors.
Two of those celebrities that locals can meet this Sunday, March 3rd are Amy Hill and Curtis Chin.
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Amy Hill has long been known in Hawaii's artistic circles as a great champion of local talent. She works with many local artists.
In Honolulu, Hill is best known for her work in the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival and a reboot of a popular 1960s television series in which she played Teuila “Kumu” Tuileta, the cultural curator of Robin Masters' estate.
On Sunday Hill will be a da Shop: Books + Curiosities in Kaimuki. It is part of their author talk and book signing series with the presentation “Curtis Chin in Conversation with Amy Hill.”
Chin is the author of “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant.” In his conversation with Hill, Chin will discuss “what it was like growing up as a gay ABC, or American-born Chinese, in the 1980s,” said Lani Lee, who works at da Shop.
His memoir is full of personal anecdotes about his family and his own personal experiences, resulting in what Chin describes as “both sweet and sour memories.”
“Chin’s memoir captures an Asian American experience that is often not shared out loud but is very much a fabric of American identity and our evolving diverse society,” da Shop said. “His coming-of-age and coming-out memoir chronicles the author's journey through 1980s Detroit as he grappled with rising xenophobia, the AIDS epidemic, and the Reagan Revolution to assert his voice as a writer and activist find – all against the backdrop of the popularity of his family Chinese restaurant.”
Chin is a filmmaker who co-founded the Asian American Writers' Workshop. Although Chin's film work began with him working as a writer for network and cable television, he evolved into a social justice documentary filmmaker.
KHON2.com was able to catch up with Chin to discuss the story.
“I grew up in this great Chinese restaurant in Detroit that was founded by my great-grandfather in 1940,” Chin said. And I just had a wonderful childhood. But unfortunately I had to close the restaurant after my father passed away. And when my siblings had kids, I just wanted to collect some stories so they could learn about our family’s rich history at this restaurant.”
For Chin, tracing history through food is an interesting journey. He believes that many foods are influenced by immigration, migration and access to food sources.
“So you can learn a lot about a culture by observing the food itself,” Chin added.
You can Click here for access to tickets. The event is free, but you must register. You can click You can purchase an advance copy of the book here before the event on Sunday. Finally, if you want to know more about this amazing little bookstore in the heart of Kaimuki then Click here.
You will have the opportunity to learn more about Chin's extraordinary journey and the stories that shaped his life. And when Hill finds himself leading an intimate discussion, it's guaranteed to be an entertaining and insightful experience.
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Sunday's event starts at 2:00 p.m. and lasts until 4:00 p.m. You can find the shop: Books + Curiosities at 3565 Harding Avenue.
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