Donut People

This short food film tells the story of Cambodian immigrants in Texas, where Cambodians own an estimated 95% of the donut shops. Some of the film's subjects escaped torture and persecution in Cambodia at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. Interviews with immigrants and their children offer insights into the culture. The film wraps up with a look at the exciting new style of Cambodian donut shop/coffee house with gourmet Asian donuts and hip baristas.

♪ Cambodian music ♪

[DONUT PEOPLE]

[Samoeurn Phan]

[Affectionately known as
Pou Sam (Uncle Sam)]

[Sam has opened over 20 donut shops
for Cambodian families across Houston.]

(Uncle Sam) Well, when I came here in 1994

to eat one donut you didn't realize
how much work goes into one donut

until you actually go into
doing the donuts.

You know, it takes quite a bit
just to make one donut.

I start off by finding a location.

If I find a location,

I get a family that needs a donut shop
to go to look at the location,

and if they like it,
we negotiate the price,

and if the price is right,
I build it for them and turn them the key.

You know, most of them
already know how to make donuts.

They work for a family member,

you know, they've already worked
for like two, three or five years

to save up the money
to start up the business.

[Chandara Meas
Owner of Snowflake Donuts, Galveston]

[Cambodian Immigrant]

(Chandara Meas) That's what I'm saying,
when I came to the States,

I don't have no relatives in here,
I don't speak that much English,

I gotta start to learn English

and start to work to support myself...

and I don't have chance
to go back to college,

so I end up at a donut shop.

Most Cambodians who take us,

they own a donut shop,
they run a donut business...

yeah, you know, it's hard to do it,

not many people want to do that job
as I'm doing right now.

[Countless Cambodians were tortured]

[and more than a million were killed]

[under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime.]

[More than a million Cambodians fled
and became refugees.]

From 1975 to 1979,

there's Khmer Rouge ran by Pol Pot.

At that time I was 10 years old...

I still remember the torture,

lot of people died
by starving and sickness...

most of [the time]
they were killing people.

That was a hard time

and that was the worst thing
that happened in the world.

Most Cambodians escaped from the war
in 1981after the Khmer Rouge regime,

and when they started to come here,
people don't speak that much English,

so that's why they started
working at donut shops

because most of them what they do
are family business --

This is my wife's nephew.

He just came to the USA last year.

He came in a special case
that they call "Lottery Visa".

He's a lucky one
that won a lottery green card.

The business we just opened--
it is kind of slow, it's brand new.

Hopefully, we can stay for a long time
until we get some profit...

to take care of my family, my kids...

go to school, go to college...

I have a beautiful kid.

It's like, if you work for a company,

you have a different schedule
than the donut people.

So the donut people,
we wake up at 2:00 or 3:00 am,

and we'll be done by 12:00 or 1:00 pm,
and take a couple-of-hours-nap,

and, you know, get together
and then, go to sleep, and wake up,

and go to make some more donuts!

(man singing Karaoke in Cambodian)

[Tao Ngo Vietnamese Restaurant
North Houston]

[Cambodian Karaoke Party]