A Hundred Joys

"A Hundred Joys" is a film about the main intersection of Toronto’s East Chinatown, a community whose stores spread out onto the streets. 

Within its seemingly small area, it shares an important history of entrepreneurship in the face of migration and dispossession. When the expropriation of the original downtown Chinatown began in the 1950s, Chinese businesses were forced to relocate. The city of Toronto was adamant to push them out from the area, and more than two thirds of the area was subsequently razed from existence. Many Chinese and Vietnamese Canadians migrated to Toronto’s east end, initially forming around a Chinese butcher shop on Broadview Avenue. 

This documentary pairs cinematic impressions of the East Chinatown neighbourhood alongside interviews with neighbourhood residents and business owners, giving voice to their experiences of community, identity, anxieties, and hopes for the future.

Featured Places
Wok & Roast Chinese BBQ

The key to their success is simple: providing exquisite meals, made out of only the purest and freshest of ingredients that taste great every single time.

Wong’s Ice Cream & Store

Wong's Ice Cream is consistently rated one of Toronto's best ice cream shops specializing in Asian-inspired flavours.

About The Team
About the Director
About the Director

Amanda Ann-Min Wong (she/they) is a Toronto-based film director, writer, sound artist, and musician. Her work explores themes of loss, nostalgia, and memory, as well as finding purpose and community through the arts. Her short films have screened internationally and have been nominated for awards such as the Golden Sheaf Award at Yorkton, Best Canadian Short Award at VAFF, and the Iris Prize in Cardiff, Wales. She has also previously worked in television research and production. In 2021, she was a member of Inside Out Film Festival's Canadian Jury.

In her free time, Amanda loves rocking out with her band, cutsleeve. Their debut EP "the parts we could not abandon released" in 2020 to critical acclaim.

  • Director of Photography
    Benjamin Wong
  • 1st Assistant Camera
    Emily Borhi
  • Editor
    Kathryn Lyons
  • Sound Recordist
    Jonah Blaser
  • Sound Designer
    Alana Raymond
  • Sound Mixer
    Michael Palmer
  • Still Photographer & PA
    Jesse Sarkis
  • Cantonese Transcription
    Wynne Kwok
  • Poster Design
    Lily Huang
  • Executive Producer
    Rebekah Miskin
  • Producer
    Jeff Chiu
  • Director
    Amanda Ann-Min Wong
  • Featuring
    Wai Quen Cheung, Jay Choo, Maylynn Quan, Ed Wong