The documentary Spring After Spring will be screened at The Chinatown Storytelling Centre on Feb. 1, followed by a theatrical premiere at the VIFF Centre on Feb. 6. The film features three sisters—Anabel Ho, Val Ho (also known as Ms. Vee) and Lisa Ho—as they decide whether to continue their mother’s legacy or leave it behind.

That legacy is leading Vancouver’s Chinatown Parade. The sisters’ mother was Maria Mimie Ho, founder of the Strathcona Chinese Dance Company (SCDC) and longtime community leader. For director and co-producer, Jon Chiang, the film is the “Christmas movie equivalent” for the Lunar New Year.

“I was drawn to Mimie’s story and her drive—she was such a personality and force in bringing culture to Chinese Canadians,” Chiang says. “The trickiest part was actually finding archival of Mimie herself—she wasn’t really ever in front of the camera.”

At the dinner table

Chiang’s team eventually found tapes featuring Mimie from a parent whose child was part of SCDC. He adds that Mimie’s interviews with CBC also served as archival materials.

Aside from promoting Chinese dance, Mimie was a co-founder of S.U.C.C.E.S.S., a non-profit multicultural organization serving newcomers, seniors, youth and families. In 1997, the Vancouver City Council recognized Mimie with the Civic Merit Award for her contributions to arts and culture.

The director came across the idea for Spring After Spring while speaking with Phil Planta, who is married to Anabel. Planta served as associate producer for the film.

“I thought this was such an incredible story, and their mom was such an incredible person,” Chiang says. “At the same time, I was like, ‘How come I’ve never heard about Mimie?’”

Chiang was drawn to both Mimie’s community work and relationship with her daughters. He remembers sitting with the sisters at Chinatown BBQ and recognizing the trio had “a dynamic and energy”—one that would be highly appealing to audiences.

“My co-producer, Joanna Wong, we were both commenting, ‘They feel like our cousins, we’re just sitting down at the dinner table with our family and sharing the same conversations,’” Chiang recalls of that day.

That dynamic, for Chiang, is complex. He notes that there are “deep love and loyalty” for one another. Spring After Spring also depicts classic sibling conflicts—showcasing both what is “said and unsaid.”  

Exploring legacies

For Chiang, this story will resonate with many in the Chinese Canadian diaspora. He recalls the sisters sharing their experiences of “being dragged” to Chinatown’s dance classes on the weekends.

It’s an experience the director has also lived: Chiang himself was expected to work at his family’s grocery store in East Vancouver. For him, the heart of Spring After Spring explores legacies.

“It was really interesting that the three sisters all continue in their mother’s footsteps,” Chiang shares. “They all became dancers.”

Anabel, the eldest, is the founder of Vancouver Academy of Dance, carrying on her mother’s teaching legacy. Val is a hip-hop dancer who now teaches at Juilliard—a first for the highly esteemed arts school. The youngest sister, Lisa, has performed on Broadway.

“That really piqued my curiosity about these legacies we have in our family and why we choose to carry them and how we continue to carry them even though the people who started them might not be in our lives anymore,” Chiang says.

A memorable scene for the director included a “transformative conversation” at a holiday dinner table. Chiang was “blown away” by the sisters’ vulnerability—particularly when sharing about grief.  

“Everything that happened in that scene—the chaos—really felt like my family’s holiday dinners,” he says, adding death is often a taboo topic in Chinese culture. “The conversations that followed were some of the most powerful ones.”

Chiang and his daughter will be marching in this year’s parade, alongside the Maria Mimie Ho Foundation.

The VIFF Centre will also screen Spring After Spring on Feb. 8, 9, 15, and 17.

For more information about the upcoming screenings, see https://springafterspring.com/.

For more information about Jon Chiang, see https://jonchiang.com/.