Chinatown: Immigrants in America (1976)

Produced in response to what DCTV felt were inaccurate media portrayals of New York City s Chinatown, this awardwinning, often startling portrait of an immigrant community probes beneath the tourist seyeview to uncover the complexity of an innercity subculture plagued by poverty and exploitation. This is the story of our neighbors, says Alpert. His sympathetic reportage from within reveals kitchen workers earning less than 100 for sixtyhour weeks, rents that are among the highest in the city, and garment workers laboring for minimum wages in unsafe conditions. Focusing on individual stories to expose broader issues, this is an unflinching document of Asian immigrants under pressure to assimilate into mainstream culture and struggling to survive in America.