In her deeply personal and moving directorial debut, filmmaker Vicky Du unravels her family’s war-torn history across three generations and three countries—China, Taiwan, and the United States. Light of the Setting Sun is a poetic exploration of the unspoken, revealing how inherited trauma, insecurity, and the echoes of war shape both identity and legacy. Through archival footage, personal reflections, and intimate interviews, Du crafts a candid and compassionate meditation on survival and the lasting impact of her family’s escape from the 1949 Chinese Communist Revolution.

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at San Diego Asian Film Festiva –  NY Premiere

Special Showtimes

• Fri Apr 18, 7pm: Post-Screening Q&A with Director Vicky Du, Producer Danielle Varga, Cinematographer Daniel Chein, and Composer Troy Herion, moderated by Monika Navarro, Director of William Greaves Production Fund. Reception to follow. Co-presented by the Center for Asian American Media and Meerkat Media.
• Sat Apr 19, 7pm: Post-Screening Q&A with Director Vicky Du, moderated by Bing Liu, Director of Oscar-nominated Minding the Gap
• Sun Apr 20, 6pm: Post-Screening Q&A with Director Vicky Du, moderated by Jiayang Fan, Staff Writer for The New Yorker
• Mon Apr 21, 7pm: Post-Screening Q&A with Director Vicky Du, moderated by Marcia Liu, Ph. D. (Psychologist and Mental Health Specialist, Hunter College)
• Wed Apr 23, 7pm: Post-Screening Q&A with Director Vicky Du, film participant, Gloria Du, moderated by Siyi Chen, Director of Dear Mother, I Meant to Write About Death
• Thu Apr 24, 7pm: Post-Screening Q&A with Director Vicky Du and Dr. Daniela Schiller, Neuroscientist, Affective Neuroscience Lab at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Reception to follow. Presented by Sandbox Films as part of “A Scientist’s Take” series.