By Sophie Wallace

Two TMU alumni showcased a documentary film, Exclusion: Beyond the Silence, that they collaborated on at the second annual Toronto Chinese Canadian Film Festival (TCCFF) on Oct. 24.

The festival ran for one week, from Oct. 18 to 24, culminating in a viewing of the alumni’s documentary on closing night. The film documents the intergenerational impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act, spotlighting the activists who were key to it being overturned.

Justin Poy, a graduate of the RTA School of Media in 1993, was a producer and Craig Thompson, a graduate of the journalism program in 1982, was a producer and executive producer of the documentary.

“This is a film that needs to be seen in schools, colleges, universities…it’s just that important,” said Poy at the festival viewing.

Thompson described the filmmaking process as “quite a journey…this is one of the untold stories of Canada’s multicultural heritage,” at the viewing.

The film explores a painful segment of Canada’s history. The Canadian government invited over 17,000 Chinese workers between 1881 and 1885 to come to build the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Upon completion, the government implemented a head-tax to try to prevent the railway workers from permanently settling their families in Canada. The Chinese Immigration Act, also known as the Chinese Exclusion Act, was the final policy put in place to prevent Chinese immigration to Canada.

In effect from 1923 to 1947, the act separated families for decades—the aftermath of which is still felt today. “That is not Chinese-Canadian history,” said Poy, in an interview with The Eyeopener. “That is Canadian history.”

The film opens on a birds-eye view of a large spinning banquet table; the table is cleared and the film switches to a narration from Keira Loughran, the director and subject of the documentary. “My silence is learned through the endurance of my elders,” Loughran’s voice shares.

Through the course of the documentary, we learn Loughran is the granddaughter of Jean Lumb. A mother and restaurateur, Lumb was the first Chinese-Canadian woman to be awarded the Order of Canada in 1976 for her community activism. “Jean Lumb is a name all Chinese-Canadians grew up knowing, especially in the 80s,” said co-producer Poy. “She was like this mythical figure.”

In the film, Loughran connects with the granddaughter of Foon Hay Lum, Helen Lee. Lum was a key activist in helping secure a formal apology from the Canadian government and compensation for Chinese-Canadians who were forced to pay the head-tax.

Curious about the familial links between Lumb and Lum, the pair travels to China to visit their grandparents’ village homes and connect with members of their extended families. In a moving scene, they realize their ancestors’ graves are mere metres away from each other.

The coincidence is poignant. According to Thompson, “everything you saw on screen happened in real life. We didn’t manufacture anything. It was all by chance.”

The banquet table motif threads its way throughout the film, alongside references to jyun fan, the Chinese concept of predestination. Gradually, the table fills with photographs, identity documents and heirloom treasures.

In the closing scene, the narrator imparts one final piece of wisdom to her audience: “don’t let the separations of the past impede the connections of the future.”

Thompson has a connection to the Chinese community as his wife is Chinese and his daughter, half-Chinese. “People see their own lives reflected in the film,” he said.

Production for the documentary began in 2023, on the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act. “We felt it was an appropriate time to tell the story,” said Thompson.

He described how the biggest challenge as a producer was finding support for the film. “There aren’t a lot of Chinese stories out there and there’s not a lot of familiarity with Chinese stories. It was a very tough project to finance.”

For Poy, making the film was an emotional process. Less than 50 Chinese people were allowed into the country between 1923 and 1947. Four of those were his family members. “It has a huge direct reflection on my own life,” he said.

Poy is also the vice-chair of TCCFF. According to him, “A lot of late nights and a lot of hard work” went into making the film festival happen. Held at the Toronto Chinese Cultural Centre, the festival also featured a premier of famous Hong Kong film director Clifton Ko’s new movie, Kung Fu Juniors this year.

Despite the festival being relatively new, TCCFF is gathering momentum. Poy said, “It was a packed house when we opened the festival this year.”

Poy, alongside festival founder Tery Wong Imamura, decided one day each year should be dedicated to a film showcasing Chinese-Canadian history and culture. “It was very important to have [a screening of Exclusion: Beyond the Silence] at the Toronto Chinese Canadian Film Festival,” said Poy. “This festival cannot just be a festival showing Chinese films from overseas.”