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In the Shadow of Gold Mountain
Director's Journal :

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Director's Journal
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In The Shadow of Gold Mountain 43min | documentary | DVC Pro
Year of Production: 2004
Writer/Director: Karen Cho
Producer:  National Film Board of Canada
Broadcaster: CBC NewsWorld (Roughcuts & The Lens)

Director's Statement:
I am the fifth generation of my family to live in Canada. To me being Canadian always meant being part of a country known for its diversity, tolerance and fairness. Each July 1st I would don my red and white in honour of the country I was so proud to be a citizen of. 

But I later learned that for my Grandmother and countless other Chinese Canadians, July 1st was not a day to celebrate but a day of humiliation. It was on July 1st 1923 that the Chinese became the first and only people to be excluded from Canada on the basis of race.  While Canadian’s around the country celebrated Dominion Day, the Chinese were told they would never be citizens. For them, July 1st is known as “Humiliation Day.”       
           
When I discovered that my own family had been affected by discriminatory laws like the Exclusion Act and the Head Tax that preceded it, my view of being Canadian changed. For the first time I began to question something that for me was always absolute: my “Canadianess” or link to this country.

My approach to In the Shadow of Gold Mountain was from this “green” point of view. I wanted audiences to journey along as I uncovered the human stories that arose out of the Head Tax and Exclusion years. While the main subjects are the voice of the documentary, there are also moments where I question and reflect upon what I discover. At times, I processed information in terms of my own experience as a Canadian by incorporating personal 8mm family movies into the film to contrast or juxtapose the main characters’ family stories. Lending a nostalgic comparison to the “then” and “now” of growing up in Canada, these home movies hit at what is central to the film- the stories of family.

I wanted to seek out the people who had been affected by the racist legislation fo the Head Tax and Exclusion Act. Through making the film, I discovered that this dark chapter in Canadian community had a big human cost. It almost completely erradicated the Chines Canadian community and profoundly shaped the way the Chinese in Canada evolved, developed and percieved themselves as Canadians.The experience of making this film was a life-changing for me. I learnt so much about my roots in Canada and also began to really develop my voice as a filmmaker.

In June of 2006, I was there to witness the Canadian Government officially apoligize for the racism of the Head Tax and Exclusion Act. I was truly moving to see the last living Head Tax Payers and widows finally being recognized and a 20-year battle for redress in the Chinese community bare some fruit.

It is my hope that the government will also one day compensate the sons and daughters of Head Tax Payers who also suffered a great deal but were ultimately excluded from the redress package because their family members had died during the struggle for redress.