KCET/PBS SoCal + LAist + Grand Performances Screening of ARTBOUND “Chinatown Punk Wars”
ARTBOUND premiering with “Chinatown Punk Wars” on Wed., Oct. 4 at 9 p.m. PT on KCET
On Fri., Sept. 22, KCET and PBS SoCal joined forces with Grand Performances and LAist kicked off the 14th season of the original arts and culture series, ARTBOUND, with a free outdoor screening event premiering “Chinatown Punk Wars,” a documentary on the origins of punk rock music in Los Angeles. The event took place at Grand Performances in downtown Los Angeles with over 1,000 guests previewing an advance screening of the documentary followed by a panel discussion and a live performance by LA-based popular punk rock band The Linda Lindas with special guest appearances by punk rock trailblazers Alice Bag and Chip Kinman from The Dils.
The Linda Lindas and Alice Bag perform at the premiere of ARTBOUND “Chinatown Punk Wars” at Grand Performances on September 22, 2023. Photo courtesy of KCET.
Attendees included fans, Grand Performances members, LAist listeners, and PBS SoCal/KCET viewers as well as the filmmakers and onscreen experts from all six of the upcoming documentaries from the new season of ARTBOUND premiering with “Chinatown Punk Wars” on Wed., Oct. 4 at 9 p.m. PT on KCET.
KCET/PBS SoCal Chief Operating Officer Jamie Myers introduced guests to the new season of ARTBOUND after opening remarks from Grand Performances Chief Executive Officer Rafael González. The premiere screening was followed by a panel discussion with The Linda Lindas, musician/author/punk rock trailblazer Alice Bag (The Bags), and UCLA’s Jessica Schwartz, moderated by LAist Studios’ Antonia Cereijido. An audience participation activity was facilitated by Chicxs Rockerxs South East Los Angeles before the night was capped off with a 12-song set list from The Linda Lindas.
A Filmmaker’s Reception preceded the screening where guests celebrated the documentary while drinking appropriately named cocktails based on favorite punk bands, and eating some light bites inspired by Chinatown classics while listening to punk music. Attendees included director of “Chinatown Punk Wars” Steve Kochones, Giant Robot’s Martin Wong, Founder of Hong Kong Café Barry Seidel, Filmmaker Omar Foglio, KCET personality Val Zavala, LAist CEO Herb Scannell, musician Chip Kinman (The Dils), the Music Center’s Robert Gonzalez and more.
All six of the documentaries in the new season will also subsequently air on PBS SoCal in Southern California with “Chinatown Punk Wars” debuting Fri., Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. PT on PBS SoCal. The films will also be available for streaming at kcet.org/artbound and the FREE PBS app.
Five additional FREE screenings of the entire ARTBOUND season 14 documentary lineup accompanied by filmmaker panel discussions will take place at LAist’s convening venue, The Crawford (474 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, CA 91105) from October through December. For more information and to RSVP for the in-person screening events, please visit LAist.com/events.
