Riding the waves of American history, The Worlds of Bernice Bing (2013) explores the life, activism and art of this Abstract Expressionist painter, Beat-era Existentialist, Buddhist, feminist, and Chinese American lesbian. This poignant documentary is a lush tribute to Bernice Bing, the little known fore-mother of Asian American avant-garde art. Directed by award-winning filmmaker and QWOCMAP founding Executive/Artistic Director Madeleine Lim, this film does justice to her legacy as a San Francisco icon.
Known as Bingo, Bernice passed in 1998, leaving a tremendous legacy in the San Francisco Bay Area as a founder of SCRAP, Executive Director of SOMArts, member of AAWAA, and one of the first artists at Mayacamas. The film honors and memorializes Bingo’s life, and leads us to ponder creativity and healing, as well as the importance of reclaiming our history and giving our elders their flowers while they are still here.
If you would like to watch or screen The Worlds of Bernice Bing, please email distribution@qwocmap.org.
AUDIENCE AWARD
2013 Queer Women of Color Film Festival
FILM FESTIVALS Official Selection
Amsterdam Feminist Art Fest, The Netherlands
Athena Film Festival, NY
Asian Pacific American Film Festival, San Mateo, CA
Berlin Feminist Film Week, Germany
BFI London LGBT Film Festival, UK
Bologna Lesbian Film Festival, Italy
Boston LGBT Film Festival, MA
CAAMFest San Francisco Asian American Film Festival, CA
Cambridge Queer in Shorts, UK
Frameline San Francisco LGBT Film Festival, CA
Glasgow Glitch Film Festival, Scotland
Out Takes Film Festival, Auckland & Wellington, New Zealand
Queer Women of Color Film Festival, SF
Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, WA
Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival, Sebastopol, CA
MUSEUMS
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
De Young Museum, San Francisco, CA
SOMArts, San Francisco, CA
Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, Sonoma, CA
UNIVERSITIES
California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA
College of San Mateo, San Mateo, CA
Kenyon College, Gambier, OH
Mills College, Oakland, CA
Stanford University, Stanford, CA
University of California, Berkeley, CA
University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA