What does your name mean? Filmmaker Yung Chang bridges the worlds behind his two names
Jesse Wente: 'Brave Overseas is a compact masterpiece by one of Canada’s most ingenious directors'
"Brave Overseas" by Yung Chang
As the country marks 150 years of Confederation, five of Canada's most distinguished filmmakers respond to Buffy Sainte-Marie's call to "Keep Calm and Decolonize" and offer an alternative vision. Watch all five films now.
A note from series curator Jesse Wente
There may be nothing more tied to your own identity than your name. But what if your name is itself a product of colonialism? Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Yung Chang explores the meaning of his own names, both the one given to him upon his birth in Oshawa Ontario, and the one that led him to his family's homeland in China. Narrating an assembly of home movie footage, Chang explores the history, place and implication of names and the forces that influence naming. Intimate and moving, "Brave Overseas" is a compact masterpiece by one of Canada's most ingenious directors.
About the filmmaker, Yung Chang
Yung Chang is the award-winning director of Up the Yangtze 《沿江而上》(2007), China Heavyweight 《千錘百鍊》(2012), and The Fruit Hunters (2013). He is completing a screenplay for his first dramatic feature, Eggplant 《茄子》, and developing a feature documentary about Robert Fisk, the controversial Middle East correspondent. Chang is a member of the Directors Guild of Canada, Writers Guild of Canada and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. His latest, Gatekeeper, is on the festival circuit and streaming on Field of Vision, Laura Poitras' curated online film unit. Find out more at yungfilms.com.
From shadow puppets to documentary, Keep Calm and Decolonize explores what a "decolonized" Canada might look like, imagining a world no longer bound by the structures you know, where the circle of voices is larger. Watch all five films now.