Director's Statement

As an LA-born and raised child of Chinese immigrants, I grew up like any other normal American kid - I had loads of friends, took ballet, tennis, piano, you name it. I went to sleepovers, ate hamburgers, and pursued the career of my dreams. I learned of Ted Ngoy’s story after having a conversation with my nanny about “Cambodian donuts”. I pressed her to explain what exactly a Cambodian donut was, and she said it was a donut made by Cambodian people. I argued that it was still just a donut, not a Cambodian donut. This seemingly innocuous conversation led me to research more about the Cambodian donuts and I found an article about Ted Ngoy, The Donut King. I discovered that there are an estimated 5,000 independent donut shops in California and Cambodians own up to 80% of them. I became fascinated by the irony that one of the most American foods, the donut, is nearly entirely made by Cambodians west of the Mississippi.

Through my travels, I came to realize that we all, collectively, are not so different from one another. We want the same basic things - to be loved, to feel secure, to have food, opportunity, and to be able to provide. I couldn’t ignore the parallels regarding immigrants/refugees in 1975 and 2019. I couldn’t ignore the difference in attitudes and leadership between then and now. While making this film, I couldn’t have felt prouder to be an American and proud of American ideals, or rather, what I know American ideals to be. In a time of such divisiveness, I wanted to present a story of the American Dram and togetherness. I hope audiences have fun watching. The film — after all, it is about donuts — but it also gives a human fact to refugees and dreams that can be realized, if just given a chance.

- Alice Gu