More info, clickHERE DONALDINA CAMERON In 1898 - this New Zealand-born Scot) assumed the leadership of the Occidental Mission Home for Girls started in 1874 by the Chinese Presbyterian Mission (later named Cameron House in the 1940’s), after being the former director’s (Margaret Culbertson) assistant in 1895. She perfected Culbertson’s rescue techniques and rescued around 3,000 girls in trouble because of the Chinatown’s “Yellow Slavery/Yellow Slave Trade” that was started in the 1870’s and flourished till the 1930’s.

PROJECT'S BEGINNINGS
US ASIANS: What was the genesis for the project?

ALAN GEOFFRION: I developed the story idea for BROKEN TRAIL in 2003. I was on my way to Alberta to work with legendary actor Robert Duvall on the feature Open Range, when Duvall suggested I visit the Haythorne family at their ranch in Ogallala, Nebraska. There, Waldo Haythorne described how his grandfather, Walter, took 700 horses from eastern Oregon back to the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. This rich episode, coupled with my fascination with both the role of minorities and the amazing strength of women in the Old West, formed the core of Broken Trail.

Duvall had been trying to get me in front of the keyboard for some time, so when these threads of the story came up during a visit we had together, Duvall urged me to craft them into a screenplay. At about 8:30 a.m. the next morning I got a call from Duvall asking him how much I’d written. I knew then I’d better get serious about it.

In my research of the Old West, I discovered the forgotten stories of Chinese women who were sent to America by their families to obtain work to ensure a better life in the land of opportunity. Unbeknownst to the women, and hindered by a language barrier, they became enslaved into prostitution by Chinese slave traders in the mining towns of the Old West.

In addition, I researched the life and work of Donaldina Cameron, who ran a shelter in San Francisco for these victims during the early 19th century. I then decided to weave this tragically historic tale into the screenplay about two cowboys on a horse drive, thus setting it apart with a unique angle for a western. What started as a short story morphed into a screenplay and took one year to complete.

Alan had been asked if this script was based on actual story. He stated that everything was either from a private diaries, correspondences and letters.

In developing the plot, I wanted to write a story that told a little bit about the immigration of these young Chinese women, but not from the Eurocentric perspective. I wanted to tell the story through these characters and share some of the history through the women. People will ask, “Is this a true story?” And I say, “It’s a lot of true stories.”

US ASIANS: What makes this an interesting and relevant subject for a film?

ALAN GEOFFRION: There has not been a major movie in Hollywood that addresses the historical accounts of importing and enslaving young Chinese girls as prostitutes in the mining towns of the American Old West. Through the passage of time, their stories have been virtually forgotten. I hope that with BROKEN TRAIL, I am able to share some the history behind what happened in the Old West.

US ASIANS: What were your biggest challenges?

ALAN GEOFFRION: My biggest challenge was handling the storyline with authenticity and sensitivity. Historically at that time, the Chinese were reviled in America. The men were coming over to build railroads and most of the women were forced to leave China against their own will. Families were selling their daughters to get enough money to try to feed the rest of their family. In the end, it is a very sensitive subject and I had to be very careful depicting the Asian culture in the script. I needed to make sure that all the cultural elements were in place. As a white male, it was definitely a challenge for me.

Before Broken Trail, none of the actresses playing the Chinese girls was aware of the forced prostitution among Asian women, a tragic episode in the history of their culture in America. “It’s a shameful secret,” says Olivia Cheng, “but it happened.” Cheng, who plays Ye Fung, researched the period extensively. “I didn’t know too much about the social climate of the time and I thought it was important to know the world we were stepping into, the world we were trying to create,” she says. “When I read the newspaper columns of that era, I found that the Chinese were so hated. The social hierarchy was Caucasian, black, Mexican, and down here in the negative were the Chinese. In the newspapers of the time, they are referred to constantly as disease-ridden, filthy, superstitious, evil people. A lot of people felt that the Chinese were evil because: how could they sell their girls into a life like this? The truth of the matter is that so many girls were the victims of poverty and their parents believed they were selling their daughters into respectable service.”

US ASIANS: How did the Asian cast feel about the film and depiction? Were they able to offer input?

ALAN GEOFFRION: When Olivia Cheng was alerted about this film, she assumed she would be playing another stereotypical Asian role. After reading my script, she became very drawn to the story. All five young women felt that the film was an important project for the Asian American community because it is so steeped in historical context.

While filming, I asked each of them for their input on how to make the story as authentic as possible. They offered great suggestions in which I was able to incorporate into the script. In keeping to the authenticity of the times, I did not want the women to speak English and I wanted to keep subtitles to a minimum. I felt that what they said and did should be a mystery to the audience as it is to the other characters. Their acting would speak for them. I wanted the actresses to develop their individual characters. I always knew they were going to be the secret weapon in the story. They are as much a part of this story collectively as they are individually.