Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival 2008

ORDINARY SHADOWS. CHINESE SHADE.

Ordinary Shadows. Chinese Shade. begins in Vancouver, Chinese New Year 1988. Sounds of intricate Chinese wind instruments, loud banging of gongs, and dragon dances are juxtaposed with interviews with Chinese Canadians. Recounting stories of working on the railroad, the Japanese occupation, and the Communist revolution, the interviewees, in turn, ask Wong: “If our families had no other choice but to leave, why would you choose to go back?” From there Wong sets off for China in search of family relatives who live there.

Upon arriving in a small town along the Pearl River, a picture of displaced traditions and discrepancies about the past emerges. We enter into a heated discussion about the government’s promise to return property taken during the revolution. Aunts argue over the facts. “The documents are all wrong!” one insists. “Let me tell you, they are correct,” insist the other. Both somewhat unsure of the truth, someone asks, “Who wrote these anyway?”

In one of Canada’s earliest point-of-view (P.O.V.) experimental documentaries that explore the notion of ‘motherland’ from an Asian Canadian perspective, Wong presents a complex portrait of the People’s Republic of China in the midst of rapid cultural transformation. Demystifying the exotic images of “Chineseness” seen in the first scene, Wong records daily occurrences in old rural communities and modern urban cities. Wong experiences range from old farming practices such as the killing of a chicken, to the party scene where young, made-up girls ironically perform the Western pop song “Material Girl” by Madonna. Other insightful scenes include interviews with family members sending messages to loved ones in North America, statements by a Youth Communist Party member, and a visit with a Western friend staying in a Chinese hospital.

In Ordinary Shadows. Chinese Shade, Paul Wong’s charming and sincere portraits use the portability and accessibility of the medium to allow individuals to talk about their own histories. Looking for continuity between the past, present, and future in contemporary Chinese culture, Wong ultimately asks, “What freedoms and choices do individuals really have?”

Paul Wong was born in Prince Rupert, B.C., in 1955. Since the 1970s, Wong has been a self-invented video pioneer, curator, and organizer of events, conferences, and public interventions. Wong’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Venice Biennale, the Dutch Electronic Arts Festival, and the Beijing International New Media Biennale. His work is housed in public collections including those of the National Gallery of Canada, the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Canada Council Art Bank (Ottawa), and the Vancouver Art Gallery. Wong is the recipient of the Bell Canada Award in Video Art and Canada's Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts.



COMMUNITY PARTNERS: Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter, Inside Out Toronto Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival, V tape