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Cast

Crew

Dora Nipp

Dora Nipp

Director

Dora Nipp

Dora Nipp

Writer

Savas Kalogeras

Savas Kalogeras

Director of Photography

MeiYen Chan

MeiYen Chan

Editor

Margaret Wong

Margaret Wong

Editor

Movie poster

Under the Willow Tree: Pioneer Chinese Women in Canada

19970.0 / 1051 min
Documentary

Overview

A rich and little-known part of Canadian history unfolds through the stories of the first Chinese women to come to Canada and of subsequent generations of Chinese Canadian women. It is an amazing tale of courageous women who left behind their families, knowing they would never see them again and of girls who were shipped off to the New World to marry men they had never met. These are the women who fought against the many forms of racism they faced in Canada while, at the same time, challenging sexism within their own communities. By passing on language, culture, and values to their children, these women defined what it means to be Chinese Canadian. Beautiful old photographs from family albums, the recollections of seven women who grew up in Canada in the first half of the 20th century, and the memories of narrator and director, Dora Nipp, whose grandfather came to Canada in 1881 to build the railway, create a remarkable story of stunning impact.