The titular donut king is 77-year-old Ted Ngoy, who has attained mythic status among many Cambodian Americans in Los Angeles and Orange County since his arrival in the U.S. more than four decades ago. (Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment) Ted Ngoy was reaping rewards of … The Donut King Critics Consensus. $6.29. As he amassed his wealth, he also became a beneficent exemplar in the community and a fixture of America’s doughnut industrial complex. Her documentary is on Ted Ngoy, a … $7.59. In 1975, Ted Ngoy fled the war in Cambodia with his wife and three kids and arrived in America as a penniless refugee. The story behind the documentary "The Donut King" is large, and it contains multitudes. 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. Her documentary is on Ted Ngoy, a … Following the strange arc of Ngoy’s life, which also includes an … This is the unlikely story of a Cambodian refugee arriving in America in 1975 and building a multi-million-dollar empire baking America’s favorite pastry, the donut. ‘The Donut King’ Review: A Yeasty Chronicle Alice Gu’s documentary tracks the rise and fall of the refugee entrepreneur behind thousands of Cambodian-owned doughnut shops in … The new documentary The Donut King, directed by filmmaker Alice Gu and executive produced by Ridley Scott, puts Ngoy's personal journey under … Ted Ngoy is the subject of the documentary “The Donut King.”. Indeed, Ngoy made a couple of … The same goes for if you’ve been to California and tasted a donut from one of the many shops owned by many other Cambodian refugees like Ngoy, who have proven over time to be a top competitor with the likes of Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks. Caterpillar Summer Gillian McDunn. The Official Showtimes Destination brought to you by Greenwich Entertainment Now playing in select theaters and virtual cinemas. The saga that Gu unravels is always interesting, but it’s the storytelling that can be a little disorienting as it jumps back and forth between past and present, or in danger of abbreviating passages. 4.8 out of 5 stars 135. The result is a cheery portrait of immigrant entrepreneurship that lacks political punch. Listen to Ted Ngoy on Outlook: How the Donut King … The Donut King, SxSW Winning Documentary Streaming only at select donut shops across Canada Diana Chan November 12, 2020 news The Donut King , is the truth is crazier than fiction, rags to riches to rags story of Ted Ngoy, a Cambodian refugee who built an empire of donut shops in LA so successful that he kept Dunkin’ Donuts out of the market. ‘Donut King’ Ted Ngoy’s Life Was Even Crazier Than The Documentary About Him Reveals. When he took his first bite of an American doughnut, it was fated: "I know this is my future." Having learned the business at Winchell’s Donuts before successfully setting up his own shop, Ngoy began to train other Cambodian refugees, leasing stores to them. is a documentary about the life and times of Ted Ngoy. Ted Ngoy holds a rack of donuts in LA The Donut King documentary [Official photo] You might not realize, but the primary reason LA has such an … by Craig Takeuchi on November 19th, 2020 at 3:00 PM. Directed by Alice Gu, the movie details how one man, Bun Tek “Ted” Ngoy, built a … Such support is infectious. 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. The Donut King Captain Superlative J. S. Puller. The Donut King. By chance he learned of the irresistible smell and taste of a fresh donut, but by his incredible hard work he was soon able to learn the business and open up his own shop, one that appealed to a growing market. It also repeats some visuals—particularly of donuts falling in slow motion—in a way that shows the documentary is a little thwarted in how to make this vibrant world visually engaging for its whole run-time. View my complete profile The Donut King reveals how Cambodian refugees came to rule a Californian sweet-treat domain. Paperback. Donut King. The Donut King. Too sentimental in its final act, “The Donut King” doesn’t quite manage to connect the dots between Ngoy’s financial troubles and the voracious capitalism that enabled his rise. As the movie opens, we are in today's southern California, as we are intro to various donut shops and its owners, talking about (in)famous Uncle Ted, who started it all back in the 1970s. By the mid 1970s, Ngoy had arrived in California with his family, having escaped the violence in a war-torn Cambodia. Ted Ngoy holds a rack of donuts in LA The Donut King documentary [Official photo] You might not realize, but the primary reason LA has such an … Documentary 2020 1 hr 30 min. The movie’s zippy opening montage, enlivened by colorful animation and an electronic score, follows a skater through various streets in Southern California. Why We’ll Be Watching Documentary “The Donut King” Tom 1 month ago. LAist-October 30, 2020 . The Donut King is a story of tenacity, survival, redemption, and above all else, the power of the American Dream. Article content. Search for screenings / showtimes and book tickets for The Donut King. A documentary that's more than just a sweetly filling treat, The Donut King tells a real-life rags-to-riches story with genuine depth and breadth. This documentary traces the mercurial journey of a Cambodian refugee who became a doughnut mogul in California. The story behind the documentary “The Donut King” is large and it contains multitudes. If you’ve ever enjoyed a donut that came from a pink box, you have Cambodian refugee Ted Ngoy to thank. Gu contextualizes Ngoy’s ascent with a dense, sometimes tonally inconsistent stream of archival footage chronicling the Cambodian genocide that drove refugees to the United States; American economic policy in the 1970s and ’80s; and the legacy of immigrant-run mom-and-pop shops in California. Nevertheless, with her upbeat immigration story The Donut King, the director Alice Gu makes the answer well worth watching. Ngoy soon found himself living a classic rags to riches narrative after sponsoring hundreds of visas for fellow Cambodian immigrants, helping them get on their feet in a … I can’t remember the last time I so enjoyed a documentary that had such a massive hole in the centre. The film humanizes so many donut shops and the people behind their counters, while getting a larger message out without having to make its modern relevancy obvious—here are some incredibly strong Americans who were welcomed by a country that, at the time, believed in outsiders instead of looking at them as some type of threat. HD; CC; Documentary; 1 Hour 38 Minutes 2020; 5.0 • 1 Rating; Ted’s story is one of fate, love, survival, hard knocks, and redemption. Competition - Documentary. Lastly, the repeated images of donuts are almost unfairly attractive, to the point that the documentary could be perceived as a great ad for this particular kind of pastry. Nearly every independent donut shop in every Southern California mini-mall hides a story — and many of them start with an unlikely impresario, a Cambodian refugee named Ted Ngoy. "The Donut King" (2020 release; 90 min.) The celebrity chef, 54, … By. Nevertheless, with her upbeat immigration story The Donut King, the director Alice Gu makes the answer well worth watching. The Donut King is a Logan Industry production in association with Scott Free Productions. "The Donut King," a documentary film that captures the capricious journey of a Cambodian immigrant who built a doughnut empire in California, premiered this weekend in theaters and virtual cinema. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/movies/the-donut-king-review.html THE DONUT KING is her feature-length directorial debut, which was selected to World premiere in competition at SXSW 2020. Producers are Tom Moran for Scott Free, Jose Nunez, Alice Gu, and Farhad Amid. Filmmaker Alice Gu’s documentary The Donut King is a sprawling and ambitious character study that shows a remarkable link between America’s obsession with baked goods and the refugee experience. A map of various donut franchises in California during the 1980s from The Donut King documentary. Genre: Feature Documentary Running Time (minutes): 94 Age Restrictions: None. 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. "The Donut King" (2020 release; 90 min.) Home Pali Life Palisadian Tells the Story of ‘The Donut King’ in Directorial Debut. The new documentary The Donut King, directed by filmmaker Alice Gu and executive produced by Ridley Scott, puts Ngoy's personal journey under … In the documentary “The Donut King,” Alice Gu traces the mercurial arc of Ngoy’s American dream. ‘The Donut King’ Review: A Yeasty Chronicle Alice Gu’s documentary tracks the rise and fall of the refugee entrepreneur behind thousands of Cambodian-owned doughnut shops in Southern California. It’s particularly fitting that the documentary doesn’t begin with Ngoy but with a 29-year-old woman named Mayly Tao, who comes from a new generation of donut shop innovators. is a documentary about the life and times of Ted Ngoy. She speaks of the reality of being a child of an immigrant family who runs a small business ("You can definitely identify with spending a lot of time in the shop") and follows the same hard schedule—getting up before dawn, leaving her home to make donuts. But there is more to the story of subject Ted … Doughnut shops are ubiquitous in the region — and a large majority, the movie says, are owned by Cambodians. See the release date and trailer. THE DONUT KING is a story of tenacity, survival, redemption, and above all else, the power of the American Dream. See the release date and trailer. As the movie opens, we are in today's southern California, as we are intro to various donut shops and its owners, talking about (in)famous Uncle Ted, who started it all back in the 1970s. The Donut King: The Rags to Riches Story of a Poor Immigrant Who Changed the World Ted Ngoy. It’s bright and soundtracked with more donut-inspired hip-hop tracks than you can imagine, and doesn’t hesitate to repeat them. Gordon Ramsay has slammed Gino D'Acampo and branded him a 'donut' after the chef shared his burger recipe to TikTok. 4.5 out of 5 stars 40. 1 of 3 2 of 3. A documentary showing at BendFilm Festival, “The Donut King,” is not merely about fried breakfast treats, it’s an immigrant’s tale of starting a business and achieving the American Dream. With its balance of poppy visuals and detailed history, about both war-torn Cambodia and about the business of donuts, the documentary lovingly profiles Ngoy's life, and the countless other donut shop … Ngoy remade the doughnut landscape upon his arrival to the United States as a Cambodian refugee in the 1970s. In English, Chinese and Cambodian, with subtitles. Ngoy had some brilliant ideas that changed the donut industry (like using pink boxes instead of white ones, originally to save money), and within a few years, he became a millionaire. ... a Documentary About the Drug That Helped Define the 1980s Paperback. Spike Lee Receives American Cinematheque Award, America Has to Come to a Reckoning: Director Sam Pollard on MLK/FBI, The TV Homages of WandaVision are an Amusing, Unfulfilling Distraction. $14.95. The Official Showtimes Destination brought to you by Greenwich Entertainment 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. About Me Name: Laura Location: Orange County, CA, United States Miscellaneous Musings on Classic Films and Disney. 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-winner Freida Lee Mock and produced by Logan Content in association with Scott Free Productions. But Ngoy’s eventual crises, as dramatic as his successes, aren’t accorded the same analytical attention. "The Donut King" (2020 release; 90 min.) Alice Gu's documentary, The Donut King, is available in the US now in theatres and online and will be coming to the UK in 2021. Ridley Scott … The Donut King (which boasts Ridley Scott as an unlikely executive producer) is primarily a profile of a self-made millionaire who squandered all his cash and good will on bad life choices. Ted's story is told in a new documentary, The Donut King Suganthini's family insisted Ted break it off by telling her he didn't love her. 97% TOMATOMETER Within a decade, he had become a multimillionaire with a lakeside mansion, fancy European cars and a doughnut empire in Southern California that even Dunkin’ couldn’t rival there. As Gu’s film lovingly illustrates, it’s about the other refugee families and generations that he supported, and who then followed his regimen and earned their own small fortunes. The incredible story of Ngoy—with its hard-won ascendance and tragic collapse—is captured in "The Donut King," a heartwarming albeit scattered documentary from director Alice Gu. As the movie opens, we are in today's southern California, as we are intro to various donut shops and its owners, talking about (in)famous Uncle Ted, who started it all back in the 1970s. Yes, there are dozens upon dozens of donuts in Alice Gu's enlightening documentary, "The Donut King." Ted Ngoy, along with his wife and three children, fled … The “fall” in Ngoy’s story in particular leaves you wishing that Gu went into more detail about how Ngoy was essentially dethroned by his own actions. At face value, The Donut King is a heartwarming, rags-to-riches, immigrant-makes-good tale. Lastly, the repeated images of donuts are almost unfairly attractive, to the point that the documentary could be perceived as a great ad for this particular kind of pastry. In this case, it's at the social media-savvy DK Donuts & Bakery, which her mother founded in the early '80s, and she now owns. 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