Producer-director Robin Lung is a fourth generation Chinese American who was raised in Hawai’i. She has a 16-year history of bringing untold minority and women’s stories to film. A graduate of Stanford University and Hunter College in NYC, Lung made her directorial debut with “Washington Place: Hawai’i’s First Home,” a 30-minute documentary for PBS Hawai’i.

“Finding Kukan” will premiere at the 2016 DOC NYC film festival on November 15.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

RL: “Finding Kukan” is about a pioneer female filmmaker named Li Ling-Ai and my search to uncover her involvement in “Kukanm” the first American feature documentary to receive an Academy Award.

“Kukan” was a landmark color film shot on location in World War II China. It was considered a “lost” film for decades and the only Oscar-winning documentary that the Academy Film Archives did not have a copy of.

We tell the epic story of the making of “Kukan” by Li Ling-Ai and cameraman Rey Scott, along with the contemporary story of the rediscovery and restoration of “Kukan” itself.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

RL: I ran across Li Ling-Ai while reading a memoir she had written about her physician parents who immigrated to Hawaii from China in the late 1800s. The jacket-flap biography of Li and her author photograph intrigued me. She had this sparkle in her eye, and I wished that I could turn back time and have a conversation with her.

From all accounts, she led a very colorful life and she was involved in an Oscar-winning film. The fact that I had never heard of her before made me even more curious about her.

W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?

RL: “Finding Kukan” is very much about lost history and historical exclusion. Contemporary characters in our film benefit in profound ways by recovering lost history yet there is ultimately a sense of loss at the end of the film. Much of Li Ling-Ai’s story can’t be recovered because it was never documented in the first place.

I’d like audiences to think about who the missing characters are from their own chapters in history and question why those people haven’t been celebrated, recognized, or remembered. Hopefully that will cause audiences to document the stories that really matter to them, allowing those stories to survive and guide future generations.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

RL: It would be boring to say that raising funds was the most challenging aspect, but, like many indie films, it was.

The second most challenging part of making the film was figuring out how to visualize a story that was pulled mostly from written documents. My choice was to produce shadow theater scenes to visualize certain historic moments in the film. That turned out to be a very fun and rewarding experience.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

RL: We had a mixture of foundation funding, crowd-sourced funding and government funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and Hawaii Council for the Humanities.

I became very adept at writing grant proposals, and I applied repeatedly to many of the traditional film funds. The majority of my applications were denied. The film didn’t fit into the “social issue” category that most funders were looking for. Every time I got a denial letter I persevered, but the film took a lot longer to make than I anticipated.

After all the hard work, our initial Kickstarter backers grew in size. Many more private donors came on board who connected with the story. They wouldn’t let me give up. I think the film is richer and has a more robust built-in audience because of that.

W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at DOC NYC?

RL: Li Ling-Ai and I both left Hawaii to pursue careers in New York City. I lived there for 12 years, and Li Ling-Ai lived there for most of her life. Back in 1941, the Oscar-winning “Kukan” had its World Premiere on 49th Street just off of Broadway. So it is extremely meaningful for “Finding Kukan” to premiere at DOC NYC. The story comes full-circle at DOC NYC, and I feel very lucky that our film was selected to screen at the festival.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

RL: Best advice: “Just date.” A veteran filmmaker from Hawaii said this about being able to re-create himself and survive in the business. “If partnerships are like marriages,” he said, “then you have to get out there and date.” I applied the advice when I was looking for funders and production partners. It took the pressure off first meetings and made me really examine what I was asking of the other person — most of the time I was wanting too much for a “first date.”

Worst advice: “Just trust me.” It’s usually a short cut answer to a pointed question. Many times I have regretted that I didn’t insist on getting the full answer.

W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?

RL: Find mentors and champions who won’t let you give up. Hire women to work for you when possible. Develop a yoga practice for when things get tough.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

RL: Jane Campion’s “The Piano.” It was the first time I realized that a woman could direct a big box office film that was beautiful and commercial. Campion continues to be a big inspiration to me.

W&H: Have you seen opportunities for women filmmakers increase over the last year due to the increased attention paid to the issue? If someone asked you what you thought needed to be done to get women more opportunities to direct, what would be your answer?

RL: I have seen more interest in Li Ling-Ai and “Finding Kukan” in the past couple of years since the #OscarsSoWhite and #OscarsSoMale hashtags were coined. But I have yet to see across-the-board real progress in improving hiring, funding, and programming for women-made and women-centered films.

Change comes one person at a time. We all have to work on it.