‘TYRUS’ Wins Audience Award at Hawaii International Film Festival

The documentary focuses on the life of artist and early Disney animation concept artist Tyrus Wong, who is 105 years-old.

TYRUS wins the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature at the Hawaii International Film Festival. The film is, in part, funded by the Center for Asian American Media and focuses on the life of artist and early Disney animation concept artist Tyrus Wong, who is currently 105 years-old. “The film reveals the significant impact Wong has made in the world of art and animation while telling the dramatic and little known story of Chinese Americans in the 20th century,” the HIFF website states in the film’s description.

Director Pamela Tom, and her team, brought the idea of a film about the artist to light.

“I was shocked when I first learned that TYRUS won the Audience Award at HIFF,” director Pamela Tom said in a statement. “There were so many excellent and deserving films, many directed by internationally recognized filmmakers. I believe this award is proof that a great story, like that of Tyrus Wong’s, will find its audience, even in the midst of a highly competitive international film festival.”

Hawaii International Film Festival Director of Programming Anderson Le says the audience made the right choice in voting for TYRUS as their favorite documentary at the festival.

“The life and career of Tyrus Wong is the quintessential American story and Pamela Tom’s directorial vision brought this Asian American pioneer to the big screen in such a fun, eclectic yet monumental way,” Le told CAAM.

L to R: CAAM-funded directors Jim Choi (Changing Season: On the Masumoto Family Farm), Pamela Tom (Tyrus) and Grace Lee (Off the Menu: Asian America) debut their films in Hawaii at HIFF.
L to R: CAAM filmmakers Jim Choi (Changing Season: On the Masumoto Family Farm), Pamela Tom (TYRUS) and Grace Lee (Off the Menu: Asian America) debut their films in Hawaii at HIFF. Photo courtesy of Pamela Tom.