This Academy Award-nominated film makes a powerful statement about racism in working-class America. It details the stark facts of the murder of Vincent Chin, a twenty-seven-year-old Chinese American who was celebrating his last days of bachelorhood in a Detroit bar when he entered into an argument with Ron Ebens, a Chrysler Motors foreman. Ebens shouted ethnic insults, the fight moved outside, and before a crowd of onlookers, Ebens bludgeoned Chin to death with a baseball bat.

In the ensuing trial, Ebens was let off with a suspended sentence and a small fine. Outrage filled the Asian American community, fueling an unprecedented civil rights protest. His bereaved mother, brought up to be self-effacing, successfully led a nationwide crusade for a retrial.

This tragic story is interwoven with discussion of timely social concerns, namely the failure of the judicial system to value each citizen’s rights equally, the collapse of the automobile industry under pressure from Japanese imports, and the souring of the American dream for the blue collar worker. Widely acclaimed by reviewers and critics, Who Killed Vincent Chin? is a memorable film for all audiences.

"Highly recommended."
‒Choice

"Engrossing and provocative."
‒San Francisco Examiner

"This film burns through the mind long after it has left the screen."
‒New York Post

"Totally absorbing . . . top-notch documentary."
‒Booklist

"A haunting, disturbing and utterly compelling account of a multi-layered tragedy."
- Los Angeles Times

Silver Baton, Dupont Award, Columbia University, 1991
San Francisco International Film Festival, 1988
Award Winner, United States Film Festival, 1988
Best Documentary, Hawaii International Film Festival, 1988
Academy Award Nomination, 1989