Documentary | 1997 | 30 mins
Director Donald Young

Purchase the VHS from the Center For Asian American Media.

Raymond's Portrait: the Life and Art of Raymond Hu is a half-hour documentary that profiles the life and art of 19-year-old artist Raymond Hu. The documentary traces the personal and artistic development of this unique painter, including his difficult but ultimately rewarding experience as one of the first full-inclusion students at San Ramon Valley High School. Raymond's perspective on the challenges of growing up with Down Syndrome provides a context for the powerful emotional impact of his haunting animal portraits.

Through interviews with Raymond, his family, and his art teacher Lampo Leong, as well as depiction of his daily activities at school and at leisure, Raymond's sensitivity, humor, and fierce passion for life emerge on screen. Raymond's Portrait introduces us to a remarkable young man.

Produced by award-winning TV producer Donald Young, the documentary was first aired on KCSM-TV60, San Mateo, Calif. on May 28, 1997. It was very well received in the San Francisco bay area and then released nationally in 1999. The documentary has won the CINE Golden Eagle Award, the Bronze Apple from the National Educational Media Network, and First Place in Television Programming from the Peninsula Press Club.