- This event has passed.
Oakland Asian Cultural Center + Eastwind Books Present: Jeff Chang + Ursula Liang – Water Mirror Echo Book Talk
Oakland, 94607 United States
Moderated by Ursula Liang
Join us for a conversation and book signing with award-winning writer, critic, and cultural observer Jeff Chang as he brings fresh insight and humanity to the legendary Bruce Lee in Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America.
His new book is not only a sweeping, intimate biography of a global martial arts icon, but is also the untold story of the rise of Asian America.
Water Mirror Echo—a title inspired by Bruce Lee’s own way of moving, being and responding to the world—reminds us of his core essence. In the hands of author Jeff Chang, Bruce Lee’s story brims with the personal. Based on in-depth interviews with Lee’s closest intimates, newly available personal documents, and featuring dozens of photographs from Lee’s family archive, Chang reveals the man behind the iconography. Stirringly, he shows how Lee’s growing fame ushered in something even more enduring—the creation of Asian America.
This event is presented in partnership with Eastwind Books. They will be selling copies of Water Mirror Echo at the event.
Ursula Liang (she/her) is an award-winning director and producer with 25 years of experience in storytelling. Her debut feature, 9-Man (2014), was broadcast on public television and called “an absorbing documentary” by The New York Times. Her second film, Down a Dark Stairwell (2020), had its premiere at True/False and was called “the most essential Asian American documentary in decades.” Her latest feature, Jeanette Lee Vs. (2022), is part of ESPN’s acclaimed 30 for 30 series while her most recent short, Two Strikes (2023), aired on the iconic PBS series Frontline. Her work has been supported by ITVS, Ford Foundation, Sundance Institute, Firelight Media, and the Center for Asian American Media. Before becoming a filmmaker, Ursula held staff positions at The New York Times Op-Docs, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, ESPN The Magazine, Asia Pacific Forum, and Hyphen magazine. She has also produced for television, including UFC Primetime and NBC Spartan Ultimate Team Challenge. Ursula is a member of Film Fatales, A-DOC, IDD, and is the Board Vice President of Brown Girls Doc Mafia. Originally from Newton, Massachusetts, she spent two decades in the Bronx, and currently works from Oakland, California