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The Friends of Kwan Ming

2002 7 min
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This animated short tells the story of Kwan Ming, a man who left China to live and work in the New World. Once at destination, Kwan Ming and three traveling companions look for work but find nothing. When opportunities finally arise, Kwan Ming lets his friends have the best jobs and takes a lowly position as helper to a mean storeowner. But his generosity pays off when his friends help him with a very difficult task. Part of the Talespinners collection, which uses vibrant animation to bring popular children’s stories from a wide range of cultural communities to the screen.

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The Friends of Kwan Ming
  • Talespinners
    Talespinners
    2000 15 films
    Talespinners, for ages 5-9, includes seven tales of children who confront challenges with ingenuity and creativity. Each story brings facets of a different cultural community to the screen, through a setting, accent, folk element, tradition, particular food or vocabulary. Young viewers will be captivated by the adventures and determination of the Talespinners’ children. This collection includes four original tales and three inspired by books. The stories have particular appeal to modern kids growing up in a complicated world.

Details

This animated short tells the story of Kwan Ming, a man who left China to live and work in the New World. Once at destination, Kwan Ming and three traveling companions look for work but find nothing. When opportunities finally arise, Kwan Ming lets his friends have the best jobs and takes a lowly position as helper to a mean storeowner. But his generosity pays off when his friends help him with a very difficult task.


Part of the Talespinners collection, which uses vibrant animation to bring popular children’s stories from a wide range of cultural communities to the screen.

  • direction
    Christine Amber Tang
  • design
    Christine Amber Tang
  • animation
    Christine Amber Tang
  • animator
    Jean-Jacques Tremblay
  • infographist
    Randall Finnerty
  • consultant
    Pierre M. Trudeau
  • digital imaging specialist
    Normand Gauthier
    Pierre Plouffe
  • writer
    Sugith Varughese
  • story
    Paul Yee
  • narrator
    Mary Long
  • voice
    Henry Mah
  • picture editor
    France Dubé
  • sound editor
    France Dubé
  • original music
    Louis Gagné
  • line test editor
    Michel Pelland
  • foley artist
    Stéphane Cadotte
    Antonio Mari
  • music recording
    Geoffrey Mitchell
    Sylvain Cajelais
  • foley recording
    Geoffrey Mitchell
    Sylvain Cajelais
  • re-recording
    Serge Boivin
    Shelley Craig
  • technical coordinator
    Richard Lesage
  • program administration
    Gisèle Guilbault
    Andrée Lachapelle
  • executive producer
    David Verrall
  • producer
    Tamara Lynch

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Education

Ages 6 to 9
School subjects
In this film, Kwan Ming’s friends are his family and they help each other in a new country. Have a class discussion about different types of “families” and how they support each other. Have students draw a picture of their family and discuss how it is okay to have a different type of family. Friendships are just as important as family: Discuss how to keep all relationships healthy.
The Friends of Kwan Ming
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Licencing information

Home licence (worldwide); Classroom licence (Canada only)

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Institutional licence

The institutional price includes the rights to screen this film in institutional settings and in free public screenings.