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In the Shadow of Gold Mountain

2004 43 min
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Filmmaker Karen Cho travels from Montreal to Vancouver to uncover stories from the last survivors of the Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act, a set of laws imposed to single out the Chinese as unwanted immigrants to Canada from 1885 to 1947. Through a combination of history, poetry and raw emotion, this documentary sheds light on an era that shaped the identity of generations.

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In the Shadow of Gold Mountain

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Filmmaker Karen Cho travels from Montreal to Vancouver to uncover stories from the last survivors of the Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act, a set of laws imposed to single out the Chinese as unwanted immigrants to Canada from 1885 to 1947. Through a combination of history, poetry and raw emotion, this documentary sheds light on an era that shaped the identity of generations.

Cultural Diversity and Multiculturalism All subjects
World Views All channels
  • writer
    Karen Cho
  • director
    Karen Cho
  • producer
    Tamara Lynch
  • director of photography
    Michael Wees
  • sound recordist
    Nick Huard
  • editor
    Susan Shanks
  • original music composer
    Janet Lumb
    Dino Giancola
  • sound editor
    Leopoldo Gutierrez
  • narration recording
    Henry, Jr Godding
  • voice recording
    Henry, Jr Godding
  • narrator
    Karen Cho
  • voice
    Russell Yuan
    Aimée Lee
    Walter Massey
    Albert Millaire
    Sam Stone
    Mark Trafford
  • sound re-recording
    Geoffrey Mitchell
  • online editor
    Denis Pilon
    Denis Gathelier
  • digital editing technician
    Ochelle Greenidge
    Phyllis Lewis
    Danielle Raymond
    Chaz Oliver
  • titles
    Gaspard Gaudreau
  • visual effects
    Gaspard Gaudreau
  • production assistant
    Khoba Sysavane
  • translator
    Timothy Chiu Man Chan
  • stills photographer
    Anthony Patmore
    Rosamond Norbury
  • marketing manager
    Moira Keigher
  • post-production coordinator
    Claude Cardinal
  • studio clerk
    Christine Williams
  • studio administrator
    Marie Tonto-Donati
    Nickie Merulla
  • executive producer
    Sally Bochner

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Education

Ages 15 to 17
Study Guides
Guide 1 Guide 2
Mini-Lessons
Mini-Lesson - In the Shadow of Gold Mountain
School subjects
Civics/Citizenship - Human Rights Diversity - Identity History - World War II Social Studies - Social Policies and Programs

Brainstorm what students know about Chinese immigration and the Head Tax. Identify the complaints of the white government as more Chinese labourers came to Canada. Discuss the long-lasting and devastating results of discrimination directed toward the Chinese immigrants. Comment on the importance of World War II and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as catalysts for change in the Chinese community.

In the Shadow of Gold Mountain
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