In the Shadow of Gold Mountain

Cho, Karen, (film director.). Lynch, Tamara, (film producer.). Bochner, Sally, (film producer.). National Film Board of Canada (Montreal), (film producer.).

Summary: Karen Cho, a fifth-generation Canadian of mixed heritage, discovered that half her family wasn't welcome in the country they called home. While Canada encouraged and rewarded immigration from Europe, it imposed laws that singled out the Chinese as unwanted and unwelcome. Cho's film, In the Shadow of Gold Mountain, takes her from Montreal to Vancouver to uncover stories from the last living survivors of the Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act. This dark chapter in our history, from 1885 until 1947, plunged the Chinese community in Canada into decades of debt and family separation. At the centre of the film are personal accounts of extraordinary Chinese Canadians who survived an era that threatened to eradicate their entire community. Through a rich melding of history, poetry and raw emotion, this documentary sheds light on an era that shaped the identity of generations, with deeply moving testimonials, it reveals the profound ways this history still casts its shadow. In the Shadow of Gold Mountain was produced as part of the Reel Diversity Competition for emerging filmmakers of colour. Reel Diversity is a National Film Board of Canada initiative in partnership with CBC Newsworld.

Record details

Physical Description: 1 streaming video (43 min., 04 sec.) : sound
remote
access
Publisher: Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2021.
Copyright: ©2004

Content descriptions

General Note:	BIPOC filmmaker. NFB's special programs:.Reel Diversity Competition. Agency - English program:.Quebec Centre.
Restrictions on Access Note:	No restrictions.
Creation/Production Credits Note:	Writer, Karen Cho ; director, Karen Cho ; producer, Tamara Lynch ; director of photography, Michael Wees ; sound recordist, Nick Huard ; editor, Susan Shanks ; original music composer, Janet Lumb, Dino Giancola ; sound editor, Leopoldo Gutierrez ; voice recording, Henry, Jr Godding ; sound re-recording, Geoffrey Mitchell ; executive producer, Sally Bochner.
Participant or Performer Note:	Narrator, Karen Cho ; voice, Russell Yuan, Aimée Lee, Walter Massey, Albert Millaire, Sam Stone, Mark Trafford.
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:	Recorded 2004.
Target Audience Note:	15-17.
System Details Note:	Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Awards Note:	Golden Sheaf Award - Category: Best Multicultural Documentary, 2005 Honorable Mention: Category: Humanities, 2005
Source of Description Note:	Description based on online resource; title from title screen (National Film Board of Canada, viewed 2024-03-01).