‘Erased: Asian Americans in Hollywood’ Film Series

Visual Artists Group is presenting “Erased: Asian Americans in Hollywood,” an exhibition and free movie series, at 5239 Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles.

Curated by Eric Lin Hsu, this interactive installation series sheds light on the achievements of Asian American cinema stars of yesterday and today. Presented in the heart of Hollywood, just a block from Paramount Studios, “Erased” features both retrospective and current highlights in Asian American film.

Gallery opens at 8 p.m. Remaining screenings are as follows:

Also known for such films as “The Toll of the Sea” (1922) and “Shanghai Express” (1932), in which she co-starred with Marlene Dietrich, Wong was a third-generation American, born and raised in L.A. Chinatown, where her father ran a laundry. She and Sessue Hayakawa were among the few Asian actors given starring roles in Hollywood during this period.

Born in Los Angeles as the son of influential Korean independence activist Ahn Chang-ho, Ahn is the first Korean American to achieve mainstream recognition in Hollywood, working well into the 1970s.

Nominated for five Academy Awards, this romantic comedy tells the story of a young Chinese girl (Miyoshi Umeki) who travels to San Francisco as part of an arranged marriage and discovers a new and modern world. The cast also includes James Shigeta, Nancy Kwan, Jack Soo, Benson Fong, Reiko Sato, Juanita Hall, Patrick Adiarte and Victor Sen Yung. In 2008, “Flower Drum Song” was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

For more information, call (310) 616-6666 or visit www.vag.la.