Alice Gu: The Rags To Riches Story of the Donut King

The real-life tale of Ted Ngoy, "the Donut King," is one of fate, love, survival, hard knocks, and redemption. It's the rags to riches story of a refugee escaping Cambodia, arriving in America in 1975 and building an unlikely multi-million-dollar empire baking America's favorite pastry, the donut. He sponsored hundreds of visas for incoming refugees and helped them get on their feet teaching them the ways of the donut business.
His life has been turned into the documentary The Donut King by award-winning filmmaker Alice Gu. A Los Angeles native, Gu began her career as a director of photography, working with renowned directors Werner Herzog, Stacy Peralta, and Rory Kennedy, among others. Her commercial clients for print and live action include TBWA/ Chiat Day, Media Arts Lab, Deutsche, Edelman, Berlin Cameron, Cole & Weber, Pereira & O’Dell, Doremus, Publicis, Beats by Dre, Laird Hamilton, ESPN, FIFA, NFL, NHL, NBA, the WSL, Apple, Peta, and the American Humane Association. Take Every Wave: the Life of Laird Hamilton made its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017, a documentary film directed by Academy Award nominated director, Rory Kennedy, and lensed by Alice Gu.
The Donut King is Alice’s feature directorial debut; it was slated to premiere in the canceled 2020 SXSW film festival. Despite the cancellation, the film won the Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Documentary Storytelling, as well as the One in a Million Award at the canceled 2020 Sun Valley Film Festival and the Grand Jury Prize at the Bentonville Film Festival. A feature-length documentary about the rise and fall of a Cambodian refugee turned donut tycoon, The Donut King is executive produced by Academy Award-winners Ridley Scott and Freida Lee Mock.
Join us for a discussion with Alice Gu.
Please note: this is a film discussion, not a screening of the film.
NOTES
See more "Michelle Meow Show"s at The Commonwealth Club: commonwealthclu...
APRIL 8, 2021
SPEAKERS
Alice Gu
Filmmaker, The Donut King and Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton
Michelle Meow
Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW/KPIX and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors; Twitter @msmichellemeow-Co-Host
John Zipperer
Producer and Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable; Vice President of Media & Editorial, The Commonwealth Club-Co-Host
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[@sophalpettit]

I love this story. As a surivivor of the killing field I appreciate this story “from rags to riches”. Thank you for doing this story! Love it!

[@thecountdown4402]

dear Sophal Pettit, the sad thing is that most people I know don't know about the "killing field" or much about the Vietnam War, the young people I try to explain this era to, are shocked by the monks that set themselves on fire to protest the war and the killing of the Cambodian people by the khmer Rouge in 1975 -1979 🙏🙏🙏 what are they teaching our kids in school????😒😒😒

[@EdYooTube]

DONUT KING was such a good film!!!

[@thecountdown4402]

this is a great documentary, all Americans should watch this!!!! its very emotional, inspirational and educational 🙏🙏🙏 very humbling!!! I live in rosharon TX a small town south of Houston texas, and we have an Asian owned doughnut shop. next time I go there I'm going to ask the owner if he has seen this documentary, if he hasn't I'm going to insist "you will like this documentary" please watch it 🙏🙏🙏 by the way I watched this documentary on PBS independent lense

[@mgcuniverse9037]

This is a very big part of California History Every city and town here has a mom & pop donut shop And the donuts are never stale

[@thecountdown4402]

"and the doughnuts are never stale" 😆😆😆 this made me laugh.....but yes, nobody like a stale doughnut 🍩

[@thalycavanaugh4479]

I think I have a story for you to tell Alice, maybe. And, thanks Michelle and John. I know a Cambodian refugee family who lived through Khmer Rough coming to America and their son became a doctor…. The doctor’s parents hardly had education in this country, worked 2 to 3 jobs including was owning a donut shop….

[@MONDIZY01]

I don’t think he gets the appreciation he deserves

[@mariancounsellor]

Alice needs to work on her communication skills including getting to the point so that I understand what she is trying to say. I found this hard to follow or to connect with even though the Donut King Documentary was fantastic.

[@coastalorphan]

Agreed

[@billcrowle]

Clear enough to me, and from Australia… like the other KZbin interview.

[@georgeredmondson3406]

I found her very easy to understand.