Chinatowns across North America don't just share a similar look — they also face similar existential threats and David-versus-Goliath-like battles for survival.
Whether it's residents of New York City's Chinatown protesting a proposed mega jail in their community, or Montreal's Chinese diaspora fighting to save heritage buildings or struggling to keep family restaurants alive during COVID-19, these common threads are a recurring motif of Karen Cho's documentary "Big Fight in Little Chinatown."
"Again and again and again, wherever the Chinatown would be, these are neighbourhoods where freeways are driven through them, light rails and stadiums dropped onto them, prisons put into them," she said in a phone interview.Cho's hometown of Montreal is a focal point of the documentary, which she said wasn't part of her original plan.
Cho was a member of the Montreal Chinatown working group, formed in response to development pressures. In early 2022, the activists won a significant battle when the province signed an official notice to grant heritage status to the “institutional core” of Chinatown as well as to two of its best-known buildings, including the Wings factory. That status protects buildings from being demolished or significantly altered without permission.
Much of her documentary shows the day-to-day lives of Chinatown residents in places like Montreal, Vancouver and New York: business owners preparing food to sell, young people rehearsing a dragon dance, seniors gathering in parks. She said she wanted to show that Chinatowns are not just places selling souvenirs and dim sum to tourists, but also providing important community spaces, activities and culture for the people who live there.
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