The Donut King traces the story of Ted Ngoy, a Cambodian immigrant who embodied the American Dream by ruling the West Coast’s donut world for two decades until his gambling addiction caught up with him.

“Ted’s story is one of fate, love, survival, hard knocks, and redemption. It’s the rags to riches story of a refugee escaping Cambodia, arriving in America in 1975 and building an unlikely multi-million-dollar empire baking America’s favorite pastry, the donut. Ted Sponsored hundreds of visas for incoming refugees and helped them get on their feet teaching them the ways of the donut business. By 1979 he was living the American Dream. But, in life, great rise can come with great falls.”

The new documentary from Alice Gu can be viewed via the Vancouver Asian Film Festival from November 1-9.