Around 70 Chinese students and staff from New York Film Academy Los Angeles celebrated the Year of the Dragon at Ocean Star restaurant in Monterey Park. The Los Angeles suburb is home to the largest concentration of Chinese Americans in the nation, and is well known for its authentic Chinese food.
According to Filmmaking Program Coordinator Rick Curnutt, “It was a great event. We had a very large turnout. It seems like our Chinese students got a little piece of home for this important Chinese holiday. A lot of the Chinese students hadn’t met each other yet, so it was a good chance for the students to integrate.”
MFA Film student Shih-Yao Huang agreed, saying, “It was a great opportunity to meet people, especially because I’m in the producing program and we don’t have a lot of time to meet people in other programs. I was able to meet people who could share information with us. It had been a long time since I’ve eaten Chinese food. I really missed it, especially for the Chinese New Year.”
Holiday Filmmaking student Shikong Chen joined in the festivities, and commented, “I really appreciated the New Year’s dinner. I acquired several friends now. I have to say it was a good ceremony!
MFA Producing student Heshi Wang added, “It’s really touching to have Chinese New Year in California with Chinese students. I have met many new friends. I want to say thank you to Daphne, Franky, and all the instructors at NYFA!”
