Clan of the Painted Lady

The Hakka are descendants of northern Chinese nomads whose origins are unknown and whose name means ‘guest family’. Over centuries of war and upheaval, they migrated south through China and eventually across the globe.

Clan of the Painted Lady follows my personal journey from China to Canada to India, to discover why we move and how we keep our heritage alive whilst adapting to new places. With an ensemble of Hakka voices from around the world, the film explores how culture is transmitted from one generation to another, and the challenge of defining identity within a diaspora.

Through my own story, I explore the weight of parent-child separation which migration often entails, and the loss and disconnection that must somehow be healed.

As we begin new lives in new places, what do we hold on to—and what must we let go of? Will we be able to remember who we are as we move through the world?