For 'Love, Chinatown' Director, Neighborhood Is a ‘Symbol’ of Community Spirit

When director Lukas Dong set out to tell the story of Boston's Chinatown, he not only visited the neighborhood, but also its people. Then he discovered former longtime resident Cynthia Yee and current resident Gwen Liu, a bright-eyed college student, and knew they'd be perfect for his documentary assignment, "Love, Chinatown." Together, the two women explore the streets, memories, and emotions that define a neighborhood constantly balancing tradition and change.

The film debuts at the Boston Asian American Film Festival, which runs through Oct. 26 as one of the festival’s highlight features. Sampan recently spoke one-on-one with the film’s director, Lukas Dong, who shared the story behind the project.

“My dad is Chinese and my mom is Swedish,” director Lukas Dong told the Sampan recently. “I grew up in Hong Kong and later came to Los Angeles to study film, where I’ve now lived for ten years. Chinese culture has always been a big part of my life, but in a unique way. I was raised in a more Western environment, between Asian (and) American, and experienced many different perspectives of Asian culture.”

The film was produced by Breakwater Studios, a Los Angeles–based production company, in collaboration with Oxford Properties, a developer working on the outskirts of Boston’s Chinatown. According to Dong, Oxford Properties recognized the deep tension between Chinatown and ongoing development. Aware of the neighborhood’s traumatic past, the company wanted to ensure it approached its new project with greater understanding and sensitivity.

“When Breakwater Studios and I began looking into what Boston Chinatown is all about, we met many people in the community,” Dong said. “Eventually, I knew that the best way to tell the story was to ultimately decide that the best way to approach it was to tell the Chinatown story. Once I met Cynthia, I knew she was the one.”

The director said he was drawn to Cynthia Yee’s authenticity and energy.

“She’s outspoken and deeply connected to her community,” he said. “She was a very interesting character. She was very upfront and ‘in your face,’ but also wanted to listen and learn about you. From our first call, I knew there was something special about her and obviously had stories about Chinatown.”

The film, which runs 17 minutes, was shot in early 2024, edited over six months, and finished a little under a year later. Despite a large production team, much of the filming and editing was done by Dong himself.

“That was probably the biggest challenge,” he said. “But it also became the most beautiful part of the process, I was able to strip down and go small, to capture real, intimate moments that might not have been possible otherwise.”

Throughout the film, Dong follows Yee and Liu as they visit familiar places and people in Boston’s Chinatown. Their walk through the neighborhood becomes both a trip down memory lane and a reflection on the community’s evolving identity.

“The energy between Cynthia and Gwen brings a great dynamic,” Dong added. “It’s not a history lesson, they were really funny together, and I’m excited for people to see them interact on the screen.

The director hopes the film resonates with audiences beyond Boston. “I love filming in Boston, it’s a beautiful city,” he said. “Chinatown, to me, is a symbol for many communities like it. I hope this film inspires people to stand up and be fearless for themselves and their neighborhoods.”

Cynthia Yee is the central figure in “Love, Chinatown.” An educator, writer, artist, and creative collaborator, she crafts nonfiction essays from the perspective of an American-born Taishanese woman coming of age in Boston’s Chinatown and the Combat Zone more than half a century ago.

Growing up in a generation of activists amid social upheaval, from the Civil Rights Movement to the Vietnam War, Yee said her work reflects both personal and community resilience. Through her long-running blog, she has shared powerful stories about life in Boston’s Chinatown.

Yee describes “Love, Chinatown” as “a letter to the world from Chinatown,” praising it as “a beautiful, wonderful place, full of incredible people who need to get involved.”

Reflecting on its history, she noted past exploitation and challenges, but emphasized that “there isn’t truly a gap between the young and old. Many organizations work hard and are eager to teach the history.”

She added that local institutions are “doing amazing work” and encouraged people to “donate time or money to support youth, seniors, and community stability.”

In her blog, Yee writes about her bond with Gwen Liu: “Gwen and I are both Chinatown-born and raised. We are lions, this is how we often greet each other. Gwen initiates. I respond. Sparring and blocking. Sparring and blocking. Gwen and I share the same birthday, but half a century apart.”

Liu, who appears alongside Yee, recalled a childhood memory.

“I grew up in Chinatown,” Liu told the Sampan. “We moved to Knapp Street when I was two. I remember the summer festivals, dance lessons at the old Kwong Kow Chinese School, and my mom still has a clipping of me in the Sampan newspaper from the day our dance class performed on stage at a summer festival.”

“That day, my halter top, tied by a red ribbon around my neck, fell midway through the performance. I cried so much after imagining the crowd laughing, but afterwards, aunties were behind the stage to comfort me and tell me how I handled it so well —like a natural performer!”

“I remember feeling pride when I was teaching swim lessons at the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center’s pool. On those Saturdays after swim class, my brother and I would wander Chinatown for lunch and often bump into our adorable little swim students coming from some other community class they had that day… I imagine that’s how Cynthia feels, being recognized every time she walks down the streets of Chinatown, and now I suddenly recognize everyone. ”

Liu first met Yee in a Tai Chi class at Boston University. Liu is now pursuing a doctorate in mechanical engineering at Northwestern University in Chicago. “I hope they see the love we have for Chinatown, and the subtle ways growing up in Chinatown moves and molds us. I hope people who have unintentionally seen Chinatown as a one-dimensional place with only storefronts serving good food and bubble tea rethink the way they perceive the neighborhood and the stories it holds.”

“Love, Chinatown” will screen at the Emerson Paramount Center on October 17 and 18, virtual screening is also available. For tickets and the full festival lineup, visit baaff.org/2025-fest. Learn more about Cynthia Yee’s blog: hudsonstreetchronicles.com .