Julia Kwan’s film Everything Will Be offers a nuanced look at the culturally rich Vancouver Chinatown neighborhood
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To mark Asian Heritage Month, the National Film Board of Canada will be making Vancouver filmmaker Julia Kuwan‘s 2014 Chinatown documentary Everything Will Be available for free streaming from May 2-31.
Postmedia reached out to the Sundance Film Festival award-winning filmmaker and asked her about the documentary and the historic neighborhood it focuses on.
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Question: What does it mean to you to have your film re-released?
Answer: The film started out as a labor of love and a love letter to the robust, vibrant Chinatown I grew up exploring. The online release on NFB.ca means a lot for me because now it is more accessible to the community and to people who are interested in the history and preservation of Chinatown.
Q: Is there anything you would like today’s viewer to keep in mind?
A: I would say it’s the same thing when I first started making this film. I want people to think about the value of ethnic enclaves and how they served and continue to serve communities.
Q: How has the neighborhood changed since the film first came out eight years ago?
A: The changes are reflected through the Chinese shops I explored eight years ago in the sense that a lot of them have closed shop. The herbalist shop, the noodle shop, the printing shop, the night market, the various green grocers are all gone. The large greengrocer the film opened with has recently been replaced by Larry’s Market, an express, organic supermarket. Daniel no longer patrols the area and the two Ms. Kwans, the knitting lady and the newspaper lady and Ms. Lo, the singer, have since passed away. Ken, the artist’s studio became a fitness center. His awning of him turned down years ago. But he has a small studio in the Sun Wah Center now.
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No doubt the pandemic has had a negative effect on the community. Even the artisanal shops like the vegan ice cream shop and the wonderful pierogi place closed down but the resilient New Town Bakery and Angelo at Tosi and Company are still going strong. In the film, Olivia at Treasure Green Tea Company had decided to sell the store but 8 years later, she’s recently renovated her shop and continues to offer her high-end teas. A big recent development is that Bob Rennie will be moving his corporate headquarters from the 133-year-old Wing Sang Building and donating $7.8 million to transition the building into the first Chinese Canadian Museum.
Q: In your opinion, how is everything in Chinatown these days?
A: One of the most gratifying things making this film was engaging with the audience and hearing so much from the Chinese youth. They were enlivened by the film and wanted to do something to engage in the community and help the Chinese seniors. Years later, I am so happy how many youth organizations have popped up in the community. We have the Youth Collaborative of Chinatown with their Mah-jong socials and the Yarrow Society, who recently released an Intergenerational Chinatown Zine. The Chinatown Storytelling Center has opened up on Pender Street and celebrates the power of stories in building communities. As well, three very distinct legacy type businesses have reopened: Kai Wai Dim Sum (with a second-generation shop owner), Tin Lee Supermarket (reopened after a fire) and Daisy Garden restaurant. Collectively, this is a hopeful sign in the community. I choose to focus on the positive. Since the film, I have an office at the Artscape community in the Sun Wah Center on Keefer. I loved walking to work, especially through Strathcona and taking in the neighborhood and befriending all the cats. Since the pandemic, I’ve gone to the office much less but now I’m much more cautious on my walks. I’m aware of everyone around me. I’ve had a couple of instances where I’ve been a target of racial slurs. I can’t wait until I can just focus on the community and the local cats again.
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