June 4, 1989: The Tiananmen Square massacre. Toronto filmmaker Keith Lock (Lock Qi Guang) is moved and wants to respond somehow. He begins work on a story.

Fall 1989: A rough outline submitted to the Canada Council is turned down. However, through a meeting set up by school trustee Tam Goosen, Lock is able to meet with and hear the stories of exiled Chinese scholars.

Spring 1990: Lock submits Foreign Awakenings to the Canada Council and is awarded funds contingent on a successful grant from the Ontario Arts Council. His oac grant is rejected, but he is told to reapply next year. Canada Council agrees to hold his money for three years.

Lock forms Wondrous Light, based on his Chinese name.

Spring 1991: A discouraged Lock prepares to apply for funding again. Just then, John Sutton, a successful producer of commercials and industrial films, calls and offers to help. The application is successful. By now, the film is called Small Pleasures.

Sutton and Lock try to get help from Telefilm Canada and the Ontario Film Development Corporation, but are told they need a distributor. They search, but get little response.

Summer 1991: Hoping more money will come in, Lock and Sutton begin casting. Through a summer lab at the Canadian Film Center, Lock is able to shoot a scene.

Lock and Sutton decide to postpone filming until spring to enable them to raise more funds and work on the script.

November 1991: Sharon Corder and Jack Blum come on board as story editors and tighten the script considerably. Keith continues to develop it based on their ideas. The name is changed to May All Your Dreams Come True.

Spring 1992: Funds come in from the Toronto Arts Council. The lead actress returns to Taiwan and China to shoot a miniseries. The project is delayed until fall 1992.

It had been decided early on to avoid mentioning Tiananmen Square in order to keep the people involved out of trouble with their government. But Lock and Sutton decide they can’t tell the story without it and make a new outline. The Toronto actors agree with the changes, but the lead actress, still working in China, feels she can’t be involved.

Sutton and Lock sign Zhang Li (now known as Lily Zhang), a famous Chinese actress living in Toronto.

Meanwhile, the actress playing Zhao drops out. The new Zhao is very different and Lock has to rethink the character a little bit, but it works out well.

One week before shooting begins, Multiculturalism Canada notifies Keith that his funding application is successful.

Sept. 14, 1992: Filming gets under way.

Winter 1992: Editing begins in November. In January, they receive completion money from the Canada Council and OAC.

March 1993: Editing is complete. The name is once again Small Pleasures.

July 1993: The National Film Board, through its Program to Assist Filmmakers in the Private Sector, agrees to make 35mm prints.

September 1993: One year after shooting began, the film premiers at the Toronto Festival of Festivals.