Food, Film, & Activism: shorts in dialogue with documentarian Cheuk Kwan

Kwan’s debut publication Have You Eaten Yet (2022) is a retrospect on his docuseries Chinese Restaurants (2005). Spanning a total of “four years, thirteen countries, 200 000 km, 15 stories, and 5 films”.

Like MOV's A Seat at the Table exhibition on Chinese migration to Canada, the stories told to Kwan by Chinese restaurant-owners all over the world tell a long and ongoing history of food as one’s entry point to nation, community and belonging. Placing both the exhibition and other short films in dialogue with Kwan’s work – we explore how cultural foods become a platform for activism against racial prejudice.

Schedule:

4:30pm - Optional A Seat at the Table Tour (English)

4:45pm - Optional A Seat at the Table Tour (Cantonese)

5:00pm - Optional A Seat at the Table Tour (Mandarin)

5:30pm - Reception

6:00pm - Film Screening with Q&A to follow

Tickets: $20 for students and seniors; $25 for members; $35 Regular. An extra $25 add-on to be applied for a 40% off discount rate on the exhibition catalogue.

Confirmed line up of shorts:

“Chinese restaurants” by Cheuk Kwan

“Under Fire” by Denise Fong-Chow and Christy Fong.

“Clash on Keefer” by Chester Sit

"From Ipoh to Vancouver" by Wei Yan Yeong

“Koto: The Last Service” by Joella Cabalu

In partnership with UBC’s Initiative for Student Teaching and Research in Chinese Canadian Studies with generous support from Langara University and the Chinese Canadian Historical Society.

“Running a Chinese restaurant is the easiest path for new Chinese immigrants to integrate into the host society. It’s a unique trade where no other nationalities can compete, and it provides work for new arrivals, whether legal or illegal, helping them get on their feet.

But food is just an entry point.”

-Cheuk Kwan, Have You Eaten Yet: Stories from Chinese Restaurants Around the World