Tyrus

With director Pamela Tom in person

Part of Changing the Picture, sponsored by Time Warner Inc.  

Dir. Pamela Tom. 2015. 77 mins. To art lovers, Tyrus Wong was a renowned painter who once exhibited with Picasso and Matisse. To film buffs, he is the visual genius behind such classic films as Bambi and Rebel Without a Cause. To Southern California beach-goers, he is the innovative kite designer whose colorful creations fill the sky. Tyrus takes viewers on a journey from the artist’s birthplace in Guangzhou, China in 1910 to the boarding houses of Los Angeles’s old Chinatown and the studios of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Pamela Tom’s expansive and insightful documentary explores the enduring impact of his work across multiple artistic mediums, as well as his personal journey navigating racial bigotry in twentieth-century America.