In 2002, Canadian Yung Chang went on one of the so-called ‘farewell cruises’ along the Yangtze River with his parents and grandfather. It was a common trip for tourists to see the area before it was to be flooded by the Three Gorges Dam, and the voyage became the catalyst for the feature doc Up the Yangtze.

‘When Yung Chang came to me with this film idea, I was lukewarm,’ says National Film Board producer Germaine Wong. ‘So many films have been done about the Yangtze, and I thought how will it be different? But it became clear that this was going to be a human story, about the people. And it was a story, too, about Yung, as a Canadian, who is viewed by society as Chinese first.’

Intrigued, Wong nonetheless couldn’t find enough NFB bucks to back the film, but made the project happen by helping set up an NFB copro with EyeSteelFilm, making the doc for $813,000 with broadcasting deals from National Geographic and CTV.

‘Of course we’re hoping for a theatrical distribution deal,’ says Wong. The film makes its world premiere in the Canadian Images section.