our team

James Q. Chan is an Emmy-nominated director and producer based in San Francisco.

+ Biography

His recent producing credits include PLAGUE AT THE GOLDEN GATE (PBS, American Experience) a two-hour documentary about the bubonic plague outbreak in 1900 San Francisco and the race against time to save the city and nation from the deadly disease; the history of social movement and community organizing in SF Chinatown as seen through exquisite 16mm archival footage filmed by a local resident in CHINATOWN RISING (PBS/World, America ReFramed); a local Vietnamese American chef navigates his culinary aesthetic through his family’s unspoken history of war in BLOODLINE (Emmy®Award Nominee, 2022) streaming now on American Public Media and broadcasting on PBS stations nationwide.

James trained and worked alongside two-time Academy-Award winning filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK, THE CELLULOID CLOSET, HOWL) running the day to day operations of their production company for over a decade beginning in 2000. James’ producing credits envelop our human connection; father & son reconciliation ISTINMA (Best Short, American Indian Film Festival; Smithsonian Native Showcase); love and equality RIGHT DOWN THE LINE (Bonnie Raitt’s Grammy-Award winning album “Slipstream”); hand-made wardrobe as personal artifact BECOMING POLKA DOT. Prior to filmmaking, James worked as a union SAG/AFTRA Talent Agent in San Francisco.

In addition to his work as a producer, James’ directing credits include large-format 360° Circle Vision films for Disney; educational media for community organizations and PBS Learning Channel; multiple episodes on the new documentary series CHINATOWN SHORTS. His directorial debut FOREVER, CHINATOWN (PBS/World; Emmy®Award Nominee) received multiple festival awards, screened globally with American Film Showcase, the USC/U.S. State Department’s film diplomacy program, where James served as a filmmaker envoy.

James received a Certificate of Honor from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for his work amplifying immigrant stories and voices from the APA community. His refugee and working class background, love for travel and nature shows, memories of his mother’s cooking shape his sensibilities throughout all of his stories. James is a 2020 YBCA 100 Honoree and a member of the Directors Guild of America.

+ Filmography

2022- Child of the Owl (director, producer, screenplay)
2022- Plague at the Golden Gate (producer)
2020+ Chinatown Shorts: You Are Here (series creator)
- Master Kuo (director/editor)
- The Square (director/editor/camera)
- Leon Sun (director/camera)
- This Constellation (director/editor/camera)
- Aaron Lim (producer)
2019 Canada Far & Wide; China Circle Vision (director)
2019 Chinatown Rising (producer)
2019 Bloodline (director, camera, executive producer)
2017 Travels in Gubat (director, camera)
2018 Power in Unity (director, producer)
2016 Forever, Chinatown (director, producer)
2014 Kyrgyzstan Lullaby (director, producer)
2014 PBS Kids / Math in Fencing (director, writer, producer)
2014 :Puck and the Riddle of Code (producer)
2013 Istinma/To Rest (producer)
2012 Bonnie Raitt: Right Down the Line (co-producer)
2011 The Bridge (executive producer)
2011 Entry Denied (line producer)
2010 Howl (associate producer)
2006 Gold Rush/10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America (associate producer)
2004 Freedom Machines (production office manager)
2002+ Crime & Punishment (assistant to the directors)
2002 Life 360 (assistant to the directors)
2000 Paragraph 175 (assistant to the directors)

+ Awards + Recognition

Emmy-Award Nominee “Bloodline” (Regional, Documentary- Cultural/Historical), 2021-2022
YBCA 100 Honoree, 2020
Certificate of Honor, San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Emmy-Award Nominee “Forever, Chinatown” (Regional, Documentary- Cultural/Historical), 2017-2018
Filmmaker Envoy, American Film Showcase, 2017-2019

+ More About James

Foundational Films: The Decalogue Series, The 400 Blows, Children of Men, The Times of Harvey Milk, Last Train Home

The Special Piece of Property in My Heart Film: Harold & Maude

First Job: Babysitter

Childhood Ambition: Star Search contestant

Fondest Memory: My one year backpacking trip through India, Nepal, and South East Asia

Soundtracks: A Tribe Called Quest "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm"; Trashcan Sinatras "Cake"; Cat Stevens "Tea for the Tillerman"

Inspirations: A good home-brewed cup of chai, my Mom's cooking, monsoon season, Krzysztof Kieślowski

Books: His Dark Materials (Phillip Pullman); Giovanni's Room (James Baldwin); Assata: An Autobiography (Assata Shakur); The God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy)

Indulgence: Sake and Vietnamese food

Proudest Moment: coming-out to my brothers

Quotes: "Walls turned sideways become bridges." (Angela Davis); "You can cut all the flowers but you can not keep Spring from coming." (Pablo Neruda); “It takes a lot of money to look this cheap.” (Dolly Parton); "First one to the front, reach back." (community organizers)

Three people (deceased or living) I'd like to cook dinner for: Ursula K. Le Guin, James Baldwin, Dolly Parton

Born in San Francisco Chinatown, Dorothy’s ancestral heritage led her to probe into multi-cultural study, as well as American Chinese history.

+ Biography

With a travel / tourism degree, and International Tour Management Institute certification, she led 19 groups to People’s Republic of China, besides living there months at a time. In addition during 1982 to 1990 assisted colleagues on trips to Cook Islands, East Africa, South America.

In recent years Dorothy has traveled not only in USA, but countries around the globe. She is currently a Tour Manager for S.F. Wok Wiz Chinatown Tours since 1991. In 2020, Chinatown Pretty featured Dorothy’s passion for fashion and social justice.

Because of her inter-personal communication skills as a “people person”, combined with her cross-cultural sensitivity, Dorothy brings knowledge and experience to collaborate with Good Medicine Picture Company.

+ More About Dorothy

First Job: As a pre-schooler clipping off thread ends of Levi Strauss jeans in Chinatown sweatshops where my mother toiled.

Childhood Ambition: Be a librarian

Fondest Memory: When my father bought my first ice cream cone

Most Grateful: God-parents who nurtured me from adolescent to adulthood; Have a sixth & a seventh career, researcher & senior model, respectively

Regrets: Not to see /listen in person to Paul Robeson; Not getting to dance once with Fred Astaire; Not to have a chance to live in a Buckminster Fuller-type geodesic house

Wishes: Learn to play hand-harp; To sort /toss dozen files, especially Correspondence; To digitize my pre-2015 photos

Favorite Outfits I Made: In 8th grade sewing class navy blue, wool, coat dress, which I still wear; rice sack dress inspired in 2016 by Forever, Chinatown

My Sheros: Ai-jen Poo; Coretta Scott King

Bucket List: To be a dinner guest of Amy Goodman & see DemocracyNow.com studio; Have Ralph Nader on my Chinatown tour and /or have lunch with him after a visit to the Tort Museum, Winsted, CT

Reincarnation: Be a United Nations peace mediator

Born and raised in San Francisco, Katie Quan (she/her) is a third generation Chinese American. She is an illustrator, artivist, and educator.

+ Biography

Raised by a family who found joy through jewelry making, sewing, music, painting, and crafts, it was no surprise that Katie, too, developed a love for creation. creating, writing, and storytelling.

In 2016, she launched her own storytelling platform, This Asian American Life, aimed to give Asian American history a stage to thrive and collaborate. She is also the creator of GenerAsian, an illustration-based web series. As a descendant of a paper daughter, doctor, children’s librarian, and grocery store owner, her work centers around Asian American narratives, moments, and spaces.

She currently teaches Asian American History & Film at City College of San Francisco.

+ More About Katie

Foundational Films: Joy Luck Club (1993), Sound of Music (1965), BlacKkKlansman (2018), Toy Story Franchise

First Job: Being the 1st born child

Childhood Ambition: Artist or Marine Biologist

Fondest Memory: Founding Ithaca's first Pan Asian American Film Festival

Dream Project: Develop or simply witness a feature length Asian American historical fiction film made BY Asian Americans

Inspirations: My grandparents' immigration stories, learning the stories and legacy of the Civil Rights Movement, Black Panthers, and the Asian American Movement

Books: Woman Warrior (Maxine Hong Kingston), Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning (Cathy Park Hong), Flipped (Wendelin Van Draanen), and Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi)

Indulgence: French Fries, steamed fish, and soondubu tofu soup

Proudest Moment: After years of feeling like an "outsider," truly connecting and accepting myself as part of my family and community history

Quotes: "Know Self, Know History, No Self, No History" (Dr. Jose Rizal) , "Plant Seeds" (Sue-je Gage), "Consciousness is Power" (Yuri Kochiyama), "Did you buy this on sale?" (Mom)

Three people (deceased or living) I'd like to cook dinner for: Pope Francis, Julie Andrews, and my Gungung or Daveed Diggs