The documentary “Beam Me Up, Sulu” will be screened on Friday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. at the Fine Arts Theatre, 8556 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills.
In 1985, “Star Trek’s” George Takei joined a group of dedicated fans to make a student film deep in the California forest — only for the footage to mysteriously vanish. Nearly 40 years later, “Beam Me Up, Sulu” unearths this lost film, revealing not just a piece of fan history but a broader story of representation, resilience, and the ongoing fight for inclusion in media and society.
The student film, titled “Yorktown: A Time to Heal,” directed by Austin Hunza, was finally released in 2022. Hikaru Sulu (Takei), serving as first officer of the retrofitted USS Yorktown, is sent by Admiral Nogura (James Shigeta) on a secret mission to help locate a missing spy drone and prevent a catastrophic war from igniting with the Klingons.
In addition to Takei and Hunza, interviewees in the documentary include Rod Roddenberry, son of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry; Garrett Wang (“Star Trek: Voyager”); Alexander Siddig (“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”); Christina Chong (“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds”); and Ian Alexander (“Star Trek: Discovery”).
Be among the first to see the film in a one-night-only event with a post-screening talkback with Alexander, author Phil Yu (“Rise: A Pop History of Asian America”), civil rights activist Eric Greene, and directors Timour Gregory and Sasha Schneider.
For more information, including a trailer, and tickets, go to: www.sulufilm.com