Chinatown's Last Emperor is a time-capsule piece for the Zhongshan community in Sydney’s historic Chinatown. Through conversations with three elders of the last remaining from the community, we delve into their memoirs of the area, capturing 100 years of history and culture that is on the verge of being lost forever.
Currently, it has been selected by DOC. Sydney Documentary Film Festival, at which it won Best Australian Documentary Film. It also had it's American premiere at HAAPIFEST (Houston Asian American and Pacific Islander Film Festival) where it was screened alongside a selection of 4 documentaries about Chinatown's across the globe. Most recently, it has progressed to a finalist status at the Sony Catchlight Film Festival, competing against 3 other non-fiction finalist films from Australia and New Zealand. The film was the recipient of the Tarkovsky Grant 2025 and was selected for streaming on SBS on Demand.
It was during the process of researching for Chinatown's Last Emperor that I first encountered the Zhongshan clan in Sydney, the history of 84 Dixon Street, and the remarkable life of Susan Pang and her community. What began as a discovery soon became a deeper collaboration. Since then, Susan and I have been developing Susan, I'm Disappearing, a film that not only uncovers the layered history of the building but also traces her childhood, her family’s resilience, and what it meant to grow up in Chinatown under the White Australia Policy.
The project builds on the foundation of Chinatown's Last Emperor but expands the scope, weaving together personal memory with broader historical currents. Many of the crew who brought Chinatown's Last Emperor to life have reunited for this film, continuing a passion to tell this intricate story with care and dedication.
