Esther Eng
Esther Eng (born Ng Kam-ha; – January 25, 1970) was an American film director and the first female director to direct Chinese-language films in the United States. Eng made four feature films in America, and five in Hong Kong. She was recognized as a female pioneer who crossed the boundaries of race, language, culture and gender. Early life Esther Eng was born in San Francisco on September 24, 1914. She was the fourth child in a family of ten children. Eng's grandparents originally came to America from Toy Shan (Taishan) county in southern China's Guangdong province. Eng was a fan of Cantonese opera and having lived in San Francisco she was able to socialize with the Cantonese singers and actors who performed there. San Francisco had Chinese-language theaters that were successful and had hosted some of the best actors from China. Career When Eng was 19, her father and his business partners created a film production company with Eng as a producer. The studio was based at 1010 Washington Street while Esther looked for a studio in Los Angeles. Esther's first screen credit was as co-producer on the film Heartache (1936). Heartache is set in San Francisco and was directed