'Every Day Is a Holiday' Filmmaker To Speak at Montclair Film Festival

A documentary filmmaker will talk about her film being shown at the Montclair Film Festival on May 4. 

Theresa Loong, who directed "Every Day Is a Holiday," will talk about her father's story of being a Malaysian-born Royal Air Force veteran who became a prisoner-of-war in Japan and eventually ended up in a New Jersey suburb. 

Loong was able to pry the full story from her father Dr. Paul Loong after discovering the wartime diary he'd kept secret — first from his Japanese captors, then his family — for over 60 years.

Theresa's questions grew into her documentary "Every Day Is a Holiday," which is a title taken from a diary entry during a bleak time in her father's imprisonment when he swore that if he survived as a free man, "Every day would be a holiday."

The film, previously broadcast on over 200 PBS stations, traces Paul's journey through visits to former POW camps in Japan, wartime artifacts, archival documents, and interviews. It is featured in the Montclair Film Festival's spotlight on movies featuring NJ filmmakers and subjects.

Paul, Theresa, executive producer Bill Einreinhofer and editor Kristen Nutile will comment on the film and answer audience questions after a screening of on Saturday, May 4, at 11:15 a.m. at the Clairidge Cinema, 486 Bloomfield Ave., Montclair, NJ.

Tickets can be purchased through the Montclair Film Festival.

Director Theresa Loong is an award-winning multimedia multimedia director and producer, and founder of the interactive production company, FORM360, which provides editorial and strategic consulting services.

For further information about "Every Day Is a Holiday,"  including information about the DVD, visit http://www.everydayisaholiday.org.