Christine Choy, a pioneering figure in Asian American independent cinema and a filmmaker whose work on the Vincent Chin tragedy earned an Oscar nomination, has passed away at the age of 73. Her death was confirmed by JT Takagi, the executive director of Third World Newsreel, an influential filmmaking collective that Choy helped to found during the 1970s. The announcement did not specify the cause of her death.

Described by Takagi as a “prolific filmmaker,” Choy’s contributions have significantly shaped both Asian American and broader American film history. Her courageous storytelling brought critical issues to light and inspired generations of filmmakers.

The documentary “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” co-directed by Choy, sheds light on the tragic events surrounding the death of Vincent Chin, a Chinese American who was brutally attacked in 1982 by two white auto workers in Detroit. This racially motivated assault was fueled by the mistaken belief that Chin was Japanese, against the backdrop of declining U.S. auto industry jobs attributed to Japanese competition. The attackers received no prison time, a judicial outcome that sparked outrage and mobilized Asian American communities in their fight against racial injustice.

Choy crossed paths with Renee Tajima-Peña, the co-director of the documentary, around 1980 through Third World Newsreel. Their partnership was born out of a shared conviction to tell Chin’s story, especially after observing the scant media attention it initially received. Their collaborative effort not only brought much-needed awareness to a pivotal moment in the Asian American civil rights narrative but also underscored the power of documentary filmmaking in social advocacy.

Renee Tajima-Peña, co-director of “Who Killed Vincent Chin?,” met Choy around 1980 through Third World Newsreel. They decided to collaborate on a documentary a year after Chin’s death after seeing how little coverage it received.

Tajima-Peña recalls bonding with Choy and other crew during freezing Detroit winter nights while waiting for witnesses in Chin’s death and evenings spent with Chin’s mother’s over home-cooked meals.

“We were in constant motion during the production with Chris always the picture of cool — sunglasses, stylishly slim, cigarette in hand. And yes she was brash and outspoken — her cigarettes may have had filters but her language didn’t,” Tajima-Peña said in an email to The Associated Press on Friday. “But, her audaciousness was all a part of the package.”

Their production was lauded for bringing more attention to Chin’s slaying and went on to earn an Oscar nomination for best documentary feature in 1989. In 2021, it was chosen for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

Choy was a full-time professor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts up until her death. She was praised as someone who enjoyed mentoring young auteurs and students at NYU and Third World Newsreel.

In a statement, Dean Rubén Polendo called her “a triumphant force in documentary filmmaking whose works penetrated America’s social conscience.”

“Christine’s loss is felt deeply across the Tisch community, where her unparalleled legacy survives through her pioneering work as an artist and educator,” Polendo said.

Born in China, Choy grew up with a Korean father and a Chinese mother. She immigrated to New York City as a teen. Being there in the 1960s, Choy learned about the Civil Rights Movement up-close. That would shape her passion for social justice, according to her NYU faculty biography.

She moved to Los Angeles and earned a directing certificate from the American Film Institute. But she eventually moved back to New York and, in 1972, helped create Third World Newsreel. The group’s mission was to advance films about social justice and marginalized communities, particularly people of color. Choy’s early documentaries included subjects such as New York City’s Chinatown and race relations in the Mississippi Delta.

Choy received several awards and fellowships over the years including Guggenheim and Rockefeller fellowships. She also taught at other universities including Yale, Cornell and City University in Hong Kong.

Plans for funeral services were not immediately known.