CNU previews film "Sight," inspired by immigrant doctor's life story
One doctor's story of pursuing the American Dream is coming to the big screen. Hundreds of members of the Asian American community gathered at California Northstate University for an exclusive preview of the film, "Sight," and met Dr. Ming Wang, whose life inspired the movie.
Dr. Wang is a doctor to the stars – among his patients, he lists celebrities like Dolly Parton and Kenny Chesney. Now, he finds his own life story in the spotlight.
The ophthalmologist says he first came to the United States as a poor Chinese immigrant. He went on to defy odds and become a Harvard and MIT graduate and an accomplished cataract and Lasik eye surgeon.
Based on his book, "From Darkness to Sight," the film follows his challenges as he treats a blind orphan patient.
"Science and technology offers us the tools, but each of us need to develop a purpose," Dr. Wang said.
California Northstate University medical students like Daniel Razick were among those in attendance at the film's preview. In meeting Dr. Wang and seeing his story unfold on the silver screen, Razick says he's determined to make a similar impact in a different field — orthopedic surgery.
"There are thousands of children who suffer from scoliosis across the globe," Razick said. "To perform the same work that Dr. Wang has performed with eye corrective surgeries, I'd like to do that with scoliosis correction surgeries in the future."
Dr. Wang says the film carries the message of his American Dream. For the Asian American community, he says the film offers representation on the big screen that defies Hollywood stereotypes.
"Chinese Americans know much more than just Kung-Fu," Dr. Wang said. "We have engineers, scientists and business people successful in almost every field … but our stories are not told."
"Sight," starring Oscar-nominated actor Greg Kinnear and Terry Chen (Almost Famous, Falling) is hitting screens nationwide on October 27.
