Chinese-American filmmaker Theresa Loong creates an intimate portrait of her father, a man fifty years her senior. In this documentary, we explore the bonds of the father-daughter relationship and place themes of growing older, immigration and racism in the context of “living history.” Paul Loong talks of his experiences as a POW in Japan and his subsequent quest to become an American. We discover why, despite much suffering, “Every Day Is a Holiday.”

From the Filmmaker:

My dad did not talk to me much about his struggles. Then, I discovered a secret diary my father kept while he was a teenage prisoner-of-war in Japan. This film documents a story of triumph over adversity, showing major historical events through a deeply personal lens using interviews, rare archival footage, and my father’s wartime diary. Each chapter in this layered story begins with a quote from my father’s diary, visually rendered in his elegant penmanship.

The film structure mirrors the old-fashioned television and radio “chapter plays.” Like a real-life Zelig, my father was there: from purchasing opium in Malaysia, to sailing to Iran as a merchant seaman, to driving a tank over exploding kim chee vats in Korea. My father believed that since he survived the horrors that surrounded him as a POW, then every day held potential for joy, making every day a holiday.

“Every Day is a Holiday” is intended for public television and international distribution, running a standard length of 56:40. As an outgrowth of the film, I will promote intergenerational dialogue by soliciting videos about wartime and immigration using.  The film is in fine cut and will be completed in the winter of 2011.

“Every Day is a Holiday” is fiscally sponsored by Women Make Movies. has received grants from the Manhattan Community Arts Fund and has a production agreement with the Independent Television Service.