DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT:
My mother and father immigrated to the United States just prior to my birth in 1976. My father's migration to the United States undoubtedly changed him - his identity seemed to split. He had one foot in Taishan, the village of his birth and the other in Boston, his new home. He encouraged my brother and I to be "Americans", but never let me forget that we were Chinese. Aside from speaking Cantonese, life in our small urban apartment was full of recipes and remedies from "home." It was also full of stories; my father told us over and over again how he escaped the communist regime, swimming a channel and risking his life for the freedom America promised. I will never forget the many times we were reminded of how we were the lucky ones in the family, the ones who "got out" and had the opportunity to create better lives for ourselves.

Unfortunately, these stories were falling on deaf ears. I was so swept away in trying to fit in and be American, that I lost my desire for a Chinese identity. Matters were only made worse when I turned twelve and my parents brought my brother and I to the "homeland" for a visit. My teenage eyes saw a family living in poverty. They ate even stranger foods than we ate in Boston. They didn't watch television like I did. They didn't play the same games. I couldn't wait to get back to the United States. Until now.

As I've gotten older, my quest to fit in has been replaced by my desire to rediscover my origins. My curiosity about my heritage has finally matured. And what is most astonishing is how much China has changed in such a short period of time.

China is no longer a country of poverty and oppression. My extended family still living there is an example of the many new successes that have become the norm. They have a successful shipping company that has quadruped in size this past year and have started purchasing real estate in Hong Kong. My aging father works tirelessly in Chinese restaurants in Boston to scrape by while "the ones who stayed behind" are enjoying opportunities unimaginable even a few years ago.

The questions this raises for me are endless. During my entire childhood, I never really could comprehend the impact of my father's migration. But now, somewhere, deep inside my being, I am only beginning to understand why my father's migration, like so many other Chinese migrations, help shape Chinese identity and the Chinese Diaspora. I am curious and fascinated by the movement of culture from one region to another and how this effects identity and leads to even more changes within a society. Did my father's migration inspire my relatives to live more freely? How will the migrations of ethnic Chinese to Tibet influence their respective cultures? How does the influx of a million rural farmers change Beijing? And what does it do to the farmers and their families? And why, does this influence me - half a world away, struggling with what it means to be Chinese?

With limited knowledge about my ancestral homeland, this project is a great opportunity for me to deepen my understanding of my own identity and heritage. Since one of the stories in the film will chronicle my father's return to a very different China, the film is autobiographical and will reveal intimate moments that convey the identity of my own family. This film project is layered with my own struggle of understanding my own identity and place in the world.

As a Chinese-American filmmaker with substantial experience making documentaries in international settings, I bring the necessary skills, knowledge, and passion to this endeavor. I hope to explore the values that make up the Chinese identity. Illustrating the dynamics and diversity of life in modern day China, the film's subjects will serve as a prism through which to view the shifting cultural and social landscape in which they live.