FIPR469A: Asian Canadian Film Production (2016)

Under Fire

By Christy Fong and Denise Fong

This documentary short brings you into the kitchen of an East Vancouver grocery with an unexpected menu item: roasted pig. Discover the secretive cooking methods and Chinatown’s historical struggles with this iconic dish against municipal, provincial, and federal legislation. The ten-year long battle culminated in an extravagant Chinese roasted meats banquet hosted by Chinatown activists for high profile politicians at Parliament Hill in Ottawa. The impressive dinner led to policy changes across the country that ensured this traditional dish could survive. Featuring rare soundbites from the “Pender Guy Radio Show,” the first English-language Chinese Canadian grassroots radio program from the 1970s.