Chinese Restaurants: Latin Passions
credits:
Director: Cheuk Kwan
Producers: Cheuk Kwan , Susan Martin, Linda Tse
Writer: Cheuk Kwan
North American Premiere
Canada 2005 | 80 mins | Color Video | English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese w/E.S.
IN PERSON: Cheuk Kwan
Cheuk Kwan’s globetrotting survey of family Chinese restaurants has turned the search for a good place to eat into a tribute to the resilience and adaptability of the Chinese diaspora. Following up on the sold-out success of SONG OF THE EXILE (SFIAAFF ‘04) and THREE CONTINENTS (SFIAAFF ‘05), LATIN PASSIONS narrows the series’ geographical focus, but not the insight and poignancy of the stories; this latest installment introduces us to remarkable individuals in Peru, Brazil and Argentina. Luis Yong is the host of a Chinese cooking TV show—a Peruvian “Yan Can Cook”—and a successful restaurant owner. He’s also a practicing medical doctor and an outspoken proponent of the health benefits of Chinese cuisine. Husband and wife Lee Ho Shau and Wong Yim Sheung endured a five-hour swim to escape Cultural Revolution-era China and make a better life for themselves in Brazil; now, their soccer-crazed son celebrates the country’s World Cup victory with evident national pride. 77-year-old Foo-Ching Chiang (the Spring Roll King” of Argentina) combines his love of Chinese culture with his passion for the tango in Casa China, a restaurant and cultural center dedicated to bringing Chinese and Argentinean cultures together. LATIN PASSIONS reveals how Chinese immigrants have not only survived but thrived as part of the complex mestizaje of Latin American life.
—Sharon Mizota
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