Can’t wait for the festival? CIFF is hosting a special screening of the Canadian-Chinese co-production Iron Road. Featuring an international cast that includes stars Peter O'Toole and Sam Neil, Canada's own Luke MacFarlane and Charlotte Sullivan, and China's Sun Li and Tony Leung Ka Fai, Iron Road is the first big production film based on that dark era of Chinese-Canadian history at the turn of the late 18th century.
When: Thursday July 30, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.
Where: The Plaza Theatre – 1133 Kensington Road N.W.
Cost: $12 + GST, available at the door
VIP Attendees: Writer/Producer Barry Pearson (Paperback Hero) will be in attendance and will conduct a Q+A session after then film.
Iron Road follows the journey of a Chinese street urchin named Little Tiger whose quest for her long-lost father takes her from a fireworks factory in China to a remote construction camp in the Rockies. Lured by the myth of 'Gum San' - Gold Mountain - she and her countrymen come to Canada by the thousands to do the back breaking work of blasting through the mountain to lay tracks. She soon learns that railroads only bring fortune to the few and that every mile of track is purchased with fear and death. As treachery and prejudice threaten her, Little Tiger must use her wits and courage to fulfill her quest and honour the memory of those who have died. A tale of disguise and forbidden love set against the building of the Canadian National Railroad, this story is a window into the neglected history of Chinese workers who helped forge the railroad that brought the nation together.
For more information please visit www.ironroadthemovie.com
