Peter Cohn
Writer/Producer/Director
Peter Cohn
Like most New Yorkers, I was amazed by the “Golden Venture” story when I first heard the news on June 7, 1993. A tramp steamer keeled on a sandbar a few miles from Manhattan… immigrants crammed in the hold like Africans in an 18th century slave ship…the iconic image of the survivors in blankets huddling on the beach. And like most New Yorkers, after a few weeks I forgot about it. Four years later, I learned the passengers were still in jail. I was outraged. I oppose our nation’s exclusionary immigration policies, and here was a shocking example. So it was a combination of outrage and fascination that caused me to launch this project, 10 years ago.
As a screenwriter, I had heard enough about “characters who go on a journey.” The Golden Venture passengers have, of course, gone on a journey — one of almost unimaginable scale. Four Fujianese men who made this journey are the heroes of the film. They survived the voyage, imprisonment and worse — and went on to face more trials and heartbreak that doesn’t end. At the same time, they’ve been touched by amazing measures of grace. It came mostly from the people from York, PA who rallied to their support when they arrived in the county jail. Three of the main characters are from York — a lawyer, a paralegal and a retired factory worker. They represent everything that’s good about America.
The four Golden Venture passengers in the film approach life with stoicism, determination, and acceptance — some with incredible humor, others with somber resignation. Guilin Chen was delivering Chinese food in State College, PA when we first met. Guilin shattered any stereotypes about Chinese delivery guys. He opened his life to us: we rode shotgun on his route and tagged along for a crazy night in a Manhattan disco. Arming He, who owns a restaurant in Ft. Myers, Fl., was equally generous — but there were no discos in his world. Instead, he is a model of responsibility and fortitude, who has managed to accomplish so much despite the terrible uncertainty that surrounds his life. Yan Li (his assumed name) overcame his fear of retribution by the Chinese government to be in the film. He’s the soul and poetic voice of the film. And then there’s Kaiqu Zheng. I’ve never met Kaiqu — he was filmed in China by a fellow film maker based in Fuzhou. Both shooter and subject also risked problems with the government to be in the film. Thanks to their courage, we can present a free wheeling snapshot of life in Fujian Province.
I hope the film is an assault on a US immigration policy: people who should be welcomed are jailed and deported to countries that brutalize them. And of course I also hope “Golden Venture” works just as a movie. To me, it’s a celebration of humanity, a testament to the powerful spirit that can move us to venture across the sea to a strange land.
Director’s Bio
Peter Cohn is a New York-based writer and film maker. “Golden Venture” is his second feature and his first documentary. He produced, co-wrote and directed “Drunks,” a film set in a Manhattan Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, starring Richard Lewis, Faye Dunaway, Dianne Wiest, Parker Posey and Spalding Gray. “Drunks” was shown at Sundance in 1996, premiered on Showtime and was released in 1997 to widespread critical acclaim. The New York Times called it “superbly realized.” “Drunks” won the motion picture industry’s Prism Award for 1997, in recognition of the film’s realistic depiction of alcohol and drug addiction.
Cohn’s current project, “Power and Control: Domestic Violence in America” is set for release in Spring, 2010. Cohn has extensive experience in film distribution via the web and e-marketing. He was a creator of New Day Digital, the streaming site of the New Day Films film maker collective. More than 90 social issue documentaries stream from the site.
He has written screenplays for Fox, Disney, MGM and a wide range of US and European independent producers. His publications include “The Official Stockbrokers Handbook” (Putnam, 1985) and “The Reagan Report” (Doubleday, 1984). He was a co-founder of Off The Wall Street Journal, a satirical newspaper distributed nationally in 1982 and 1983. Other satirical publications include “Meet Mr. Bomb” and “The Irrational Inquirer.”
He began his writing career as a journalist, first at the Richmond Times Dispatch and then at the Hartford Courant. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago, where he was editor of the student newspaper, The Chicago Maroon.
