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Not Chinese Taipei 可以不中華嗎: Balling out the scoreboard and competing by another name
By Unu (Atayal, Amis) and Gordon Low They win. They hustle. They play with heart. But when Taiwan’s baseball players step onto the world stage, the name across their chest tells a different story. To most sports fans, the fact that Taiwan competes under the name “Chinese Taipei” might seem like a technicality or confusing why two Chinese teams exist.
Richmond Art Gallery exhibits Anna Wong's The Great Wall: #6 in its Collection Close-up
Pancouver recently highlighted the Richmond Art Gallery’s Restless by Nature: Mary Sui Yee Wong, 1990s to the present exhibition. But the Concordia University professor isn’t the only artist named Wong whose work is on display at the gallery from April 12 to June 8. Master printmaker Anna Chek Ying Wong‘s The Great Wall: #6 is also featured.
DOXA Festival: #skoden is more than a meme—it’s a film that speaks volumes about Indigenous-settler relations in Canada - Pancouver
How do you humanize an Internet meme? Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) filmmaker Damien Eagle Bear set out to do this in his Telus originals documentary #skoden, which will have its premiere at the DOXA Documentary Film Festival. As many rez kids will tell you, Skoden is a popular slang term in Indigenous communities, meaning “let’s go then.” Some interpret it as a message of resistance. This probably explains why “Skoden” showed up as graffiti on a Sudbury water tower in 2018.
Sundar Prize Film Festival honours Tea Creek, Firma Aqui, and Mareya Shot Keetha Goal: Make the Shot
A documentary about an Indigenous agricultural training captured two big awards at the Sundar Prize Film Festival. Tea Creek, directed by Ryan David Lee Dickie, won Best Canadian Documentary and Best Environmental Film at a ceremony on Sunday (April 13) at Landmark Cinemas Guildford in Surrey. Dickie, a Fort Nelson resident of Dene descent, drove across the province in the midst of horrific wildfires to make his film, which focuses on Tea Creek owner Jacob Beaton.
Changing the Eurocentric narrative about the history of science—why multiculturalism matters - Pancouver
By Karen K. Christensen-Dalsgaard, MacEwan University In the 11th century in Cairo, the foundations for modern science were laid through the detention of an innocent man. The mathematician Abu Ali al-Hasan Ibn al-Haytham had been tasked with regulating the flow of the Nile, but when he saw the river that had shaped 4,000 years of human civilization, the hubris of the task became all too obvious.
VIFF Centre will feature two free screenings to celebrate National Canadian Film Day on April 16
Stand up for Canada by sitting down to watch a great Canadian film. That’s the motto of National Canadian Film Day , a.k.a. CanFilmDay, which will showcase Canadian cinema in a multitude of ways on April 16. According to REEL Canada, approximately 100,000 Canadians will attend live events at home or abroad. And two million people will take in Canadian offerings at home through broadcasts or streaming.
Director Lou Ye applies lo-fi film-noir aesthetic to Shanghai at start of 21st century in Suzhou River
Suzhou River is a film unlike anything else made in 21st-century China. Directed by Lou Ye, it’s a gritty look at Shanghai through the eyes of an unnamed videographer. Originally released in 2000, a restoration of this Chinese-German co-production is being screened at the Cinematheque at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday (April 3) and Saturday (April 5), as well as at 8:45 p.m. on April 15.
What The White Lotus gets wrong about the meaning and goals of common Buddhist practices
By Brooke Schedneck, Rhodes College The new season of The White Lotus is set on a luxury resort on the Thai island of Koh Samui. This comedy-drama series, which critiques wealthy tourists, focuses one plotline on foreigners who arrive in Thailand with an interest in engaging with its Buddhist traditions. It depicts a young American woman who is interested in joining a yearlong meditation program at a Buddhist temple, even though Thai temples do not offer such programs.
DanceHouse brings love, cosmology, and pheasant feathers to Vancouver in 2025-26 season
DanceHouse will bring performances from four continents to the Vancouver Playhouse in its ambitious 2025-26 season. It will kick it off with celebrated Montreal choreographer Daniel Léveillé’s Amour, acide et noix (Love, Acid and Nuts) on October 24 and 25. He first unveiled this work in 2001 as artistic director of DLD, a position he held until 2018.
Diversity in Canadian media must go beyond skin colour and also encompass lived experiences
Spice Radio CEO Shushma Datt invited Pancouver editor Charlie Smith to speak about the media at her station’s 11th annual Raise Your Hands Against Racism event on March 30. Here are his speaking notes, which formed the basis of his speech. Shushma Datt asked me to speak about diversity in the media. So, I hope you can indulge on old white guy pontificating on this issue. In January, the Canadian Association of Journalists released its annual survey on diversity.
Scott Hsu seamlessly shifts from English to Mandarin in pop-rock single "陪你 (I Just Wanna Be With You)"
Singer-songwriter, composer, and producer Scott Hsu says that he has struggled over the years with the feeling of “being Asian enough”. But writing songs in Mandarin has given the Massachusetts musician a window into his Taiwanese culture, as well as an opportunity to engage with Mandarin, which he spoke with his parents. “Participating in Jade Music Fest Vancouver last year inspired me to explore different ways of expressing myself in Mandarin,” Hsu tells Pancouver via email.
Canada should recognize celebrations like Eid, Diwali, and Lunar New Year as public holidays - Pancouver
By Rahat Zaidi, University of Calgary “For Eid we have to call in sick and I don’t like that. You should have the day off school. And everybody gets a holiday….Not everybody celebrates it, people just want to have a day off. Having Eid, I fasted 30 days, like a month and I had to call in school and say, I’m not showing up because it’s Eid.’ They should know and I shouldn’t have to call in.” — Abdoul, research participant. “When it’s Christmas, we have two weeks off, right?
Elisapie’s Juno-nominated album: Promoting Inuktitut through music
By Richard Compton, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and Sarah Angiyou, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT) Singer Elisapie’s fourth album, Inuktitut, has been nominated for album of the year at the 2025 Juno Awards being held this weekend in Vancouver. The album features covers of 10 pop and classic rock songs, including the Rolling Stones’s “Wild Horses” and Metallica’s “The Unforgiven”, re-imagined in Inuktitut.
How dreams, prophecies, and intuitions can impact the decision to migrate - Pancouver
By James Kwateng-Yeboah, Saint Mary’s University When governments, policymakers or the news media discuss migration, the focus is almost exclusively on those who physically cross borders, seek asylum or arrive at ports of entry. But migration does not begin at the moment of departure or upon arrival. It starts much earlier, as an aspiration. Recent surveys show a sharp rise in global migration aspirations.
Cathy Xinman: Late Cherry Blossoms
Cathy Xinman is a B.C. resident who writes poems in English and Chinese. Xinman is also a screenwriter who was honoured with a golden statuette at the San Francisco International New Concept Film Festival in 2023, as well as the Remi Bronze Award for Dramatic Film Screenplay at the Houston International Film Festival in 2024. Pancouver is publishing her English-language poem “Late Cherry Blossoms” on the opening day of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, which runs until April 28.
Ethnobotanist T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss reclaims people as well as the land in her artistic practice
When multimedia artist, ethonobotanist, and educator T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss was in her late 20s, she struggled to find local Indigenous people represented in Vancouver’s cultural landscape. She is a Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó꞉lō, Kānaka Maoli (Hawaiian), Irish-Métis, and Swiss curator, as well as a wool and cedar root weaver, beekeeper, and new media artist. “I would hear people say, ‘Oh, is your art Haida?’ ” Wyss recalls in a phone interview with Pancouver.
David Suzuki: Vote to keep Canada strong and free!
Pancouver primarily focuses on underrepresented artists. However, it also publishes a column by David Suzuki to advance education about critical issues, including this one about the importance of casting a vote. It’s election time in Canada. All elections are important, but the April 28 election comes at a critical time.
Tesher will headline Canada's largest Holi music festival on UBC's Point Grey campus
Anyone who has spent time in India during Holi has witnessed or experienced being splashed with a kaleidoscope of colours. In this spring festival, people of all ages celebrate the victory of goodness over evil. Part of the fun involves pasting one another with brilliant powders known as gulal or abir, which are often mixed with water. It’s joyous and visually psychedelic.
Kathak dancer and choreographer Gaurav Bhatti spreads love and peace in Bulleh Shah: Seeker of Light
In a world rife with religious communalism and racial silos, Indian classical dancer and choreographer Gaurav Bhatti wants to remind us of our common humanity. In his new full-length Kathak dance piece, Bulleh Shah: Seeker of Light, he draws inspiration from an 18th-century Sufi poet from Punjab. In 1680, Bulleh Shah was born as Sayyid Abdullāh Shāh Qādrī in what is now Pakistan’s province of Punjab. He gained fame as the “Poet of the People” for speaking out against powerful institutions.
Otoniya J. Okot Bitek will speak about her much-anticipated novel, We, the Kindling, at UBC and the Vancouver Public Library
A former long-time resident Vancouver will launch her debut novel on UBC’s Point Grey campus. Diasporic writer Otoniya J. Okot Bitek begins We, the Kindling with three friends in their late 20s—Miriam, Helen, and Maggie—whose childhoods were torn asunder in northern Uganda. The trio managed to survive being held by the Lord’s Resistance Army, whose internationally notorious leader, Josephy Kony, recruited child soldiers.
Indigenous farming documentary Tea Creek earns three nominations at upcoming Sundar Prize Film Festival
A B.C. film focusing on Indigenous food sovereignty has received the most nominations at a social-justice film fest in Surrey. Tea Creek is a finalist for Rogers Group of Funds Best Canadian Documentary, Best Environmental Film, and Best British Columbia Feature Film at the Sundar Prize Film Festival 2025. Ryan Dickie, a Fort Nelson resident of Dene descent, directed the Tea Creek.
By Joe Moulins For years, I’ve worked in journalism and documentary filmmaking, telling powerful stories about disability and disability rights. I’ve also spent just as long trying to create real opportunities for disabled filmmakers—only to see funding, training, and jobs go to non-disabled professionals.
Ma-Nee Chacaby's A Two-Spirit Journey wins CBC Canada Reads competition
A 74-year-old Two-Spirit Ojibwe-Cree writer hopes that her memoir inspires other First Nations elders to tell their stories. Ma-Nee Chacaby made this comment after her book, A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder, won the CBC Canada Reads competition. Chacoby authored her 2016 authobiography with long-time friend and social scientist Mary Louisa Plummer. “A Two-Spirit Journey winning Canada Reads is an unexpected and beautiful gift,” Chacaby said in a statement.
Arts Club's Cambodian Rock Band offers lessons for Canadians about dangers of normalcy bias
Vancouver writers have already written smart reviews of the Arts Club Theatre Company’s Canadian premiere of Cambodian Rock Band. Two examples include Angie Rico’s “Cambodian Rock Band sings to help heal wounds of a grim past” and Colin Thomas’s “Cambodian Rock Band: Yes and No”. In this article, I will do something different by drawing lessons for Canadians from this show.
Cathy Xinman: But by Choice
In December 2022, Pancouver introduced readers to Cathy Xinman, a B.C. resident who writes poems in English and Chinese. Xinman is also a screenwriter who was honoured with a golden statuette at the San Francisco International New Concept Film Festival in 2023, as well as the Remi Bronze Award for Dramatic Film Screenplay at the Houston International Film Festival in 2024.
Murray Sinclair's prophecy about Trump proven right
The memoir of a former senator who once led the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) offered a warning about the ongoing crisis between the U.S. and Canada—well before Donald Trump was elected to a second term as president. The Honourable Murray Sinclair passed away on November 4, 2024, one day before Trump defeated Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris in the last U.S. presidential election.
Fernando Hernando Magadan takes dancers to the edge in world premiere of Statera at Chutzpah! Plus
Choreographer Fernando Hernando Magadan was once a national champion gymnast in his native Spain. So, it’s no surprise that his original works demand a great deal of athleticism from his dancers. “I love physicality,” Hernando Magadan tells Pancouver over Zoom. “I love fast movements and I love putting the body on its physical edge.” He also places a premium on performers who can tap into their emotions as they dance. “It’s not only about the physical act,” he emphasizes.
Iris Bahr aims to open people's eyes and illuminate common humanity in Stories from the Brink
Several years ago, performer, director, and producer Iris Bahr wrote two colourful memoirs. The first, Dork Whore: My Travels Through Asia as a Twenty-Year-Old Pseudo-Virgin, shared zany tales of backpacking across Asia. The second, Machu, My Picchu: Searching for Sex, Sanity, and a Soul Mate in South America, covered her sometimes dangerous travels through Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia.
How the colour of St. Patrick’s Day went from blue to green - Pancouver
By Bryan McGovern, Kennesaw State University St. Patrick’s Day usually conjures images of partying, Catholicism, Irish nationalism and, perhaps most famously, the colour green: green clothes, green shamrocks, green beer and green rivers. So my students are often surprised when I tell them that St. Patrick’s Day was once a solemn feast day when you’d be far more likely to see the colour blue. In fact, there’s even a colour known as St. Patrick’s blue. Historians don’t know much about St. Patrick.
Frankie and the Lost Souls create haunting indie-folk rock informed by diasporic sensibilities
Two members of the indie-folk rock band Frankie and the Lost Souls reflect an increasingly common Canadian story. Lynkse and Nathalie—band members go by their first names—were both raised in Asian immigrant households. Their parents enrolled them in the Royal Conservatory of Music. And from a young age, Lynkse and Nathalie immersed themselves in the piano, learning the structures of classical music. Yet as adults, they’re playing different genres that excite them.
Toronto musicians AIKO TOMI and Jesse Lucas release a head-banging anthem for freelancers called “Invoice”
On the surface, freelancing sounds like a great gig. You can set your own hours, choose who you want to work with, and still have time to mess around. But unpaid labour remains a big problem, particularly when a contractor doesn’t respond to an invoice. One survey by the U.K.-based Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) found that freelancers were owed nearly CDN$10,000 in late payments.
How Thailand’s TV lesbian romances captured a global audience - Pancouver
By Eva Cheuk-Yin Li, Lancaster University and Ka-Wei Pang, Chinese University of Hong Kong While dramas about male same-sex romance (known as “boys’ love”, or BL) have been popular in Asia since 2010, “girls’ love” (GL) dramas are only now seeing a meteoric rise in popularity—and they are coming out of Thailand. On January 23 2025, Thailand became the first country in south-east Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.
The Cultch launches new Warrior Festival to support “brave, liberating, and political work of theatre artists”
An East Vancouver arts organization has come up with a creative response to troubled times. The Cultch has announced that its inaugural Warrior Festival will offer “five innovative, status-quo toppling shows from some of Canada’s most boundary-breaking artists and companies”.
Praneet Akilla connects to leading role as cook from Mumbai in Anosh Irani's Behind the Moon
Vancouver actor Praneet Akilla describes his character in Behind the Moon as a “dreamer”. In the Touchstone Theatre production of Anosh Irani’s play, Ayub is a hardworking employee of the Mughlai Moon restaurant. According to Akilla, his character is an excellent cook and cleaner. Even though Ayub appears deferential to his boss, Qadir Bhai (Dhirendra), he has a lively sense of humour and considerable inner strength.
Taiwanese directors will field audience questions after free documentary screenings at UBC Asian Independent Cinema Showcase 2025
An award-winning Taiwanese Indigenous female director will speak at a UBC-based film festival. Laha Mebow 陳潔瑤 will join the UBC Asian Independent Cinema Showcase 2025 virtually on Thursday (March 13) to respond to audience questions following the screening of her short film “32 Km – 60 Years” (32公里～六十年). Mebow’s documentary is about an elder, Grandpa Weiling, taking Atayal youths on a trek to an Indigenous village abandoned 60 years earlier.
Krystle Dos Santos brings A History of Motown to the Firehall Theatre in April
In 1959, a 29-year-old Detroit record-store owner, ex-boxer, and musician founded the most influential Black-owned record label in history. Berry Gordy’s produced a slew of hits by a such legendary performers as The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, The Jackson 5, Four Tops, and Smokey Robinson. Next month, Vancouver singer-songwriter and stage performer Krystle Dos Santos will tell that story through the music in A History of Motown.
Little Red Warrior & His Lawyer playwright says that Donald Trump wants to cancel Indigenous peoples' relationship with Crown
Nlaka’pamux playwright and director Kevin Loring believes that Donald Trump is placing First Nations in Canada under threat “in a really pronounced way” with his ambition to erase the U.S.-Canada border. Loring, artistic director of Savage Society, mentioned this during a recent interview with Pancouver about his play, Little Red Warrior & His Lawyer.
Museum of Anthropology at UBC's Māori artist in residence, Charles Koroneho, challenges colonial conventions with Ko Te Ākau
Intersectional Māori artist Charles Koroneho didn’t create Ko Te Ākau for a traditional theatre. He tells Pancouver that he developed this visual arts installation and durational performance in the pandemic for non-conventional spaces. That includes the Haida House on the grounds of the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, where Ko Te Ākau is being presented. “Ākau is a traditional concept,” Koroneho explains over Zoom. “It’s largely where different energies join together.
Mati Diop is a new star of African cinema—what her award-winning movies are about - Pancouver
Mati Diop has cinema in her blood. The 42-year-old Senegalese-French actress launched her feature film directing career in spectacular fashion with Atlantics, which took the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019 and won a string of awards. Her documentary Dahomey has made similar waves and was longlisted for the 2025 Oscars. We asked Senegalese film scholar David Murphy to tell us more. Mati Diop is a hugely talented and innovative film director.
Cathy Xinman: Not a Grey Hair in Your Soul
In December 2022, Pancouver introduced readers to Cathy Xinman, a B.C. resident who writes poems in English and Chinese. Xinman is also a screenwriter who was honoured with a golden statuette at the San Francisco International New Concept Film Festival in 2023, as well as the Remi Bronze Award for Dramatic Film Screenplay at the Houston International Film Festival in 2024. Below, you can read an English-language poem that she wrote in advance of International Women’s Day on Saturday (March 8).
Scholar Josephine Chiu-Duke will speak at UBC about how Chinese humanistic tradition informs Taiwanese democracy
A UBC professor specializing in Chinese intellectual history will give a free capstone lecture addressing Taiwan’s relationship with China. Josephine Chiu-Duke’s presentation, “Taiwan Democracy and the Chinese Humanistic Tradition”, will take place at 3 p.m. on Thursday (March 6) in the Asian Centre Auditorium (1871 West Mall) on UBC’s Point Grey campus. Attendees are encourage to register through the UBC website.
Playwright and director Kevin Loring embeds deep truths in satirical Little Red Warrior & His Lawyer
Nowadays, Kevin Loring (Nlaka’pamux, Lytton First Nation) is a highly respected theatre artist. He was the first artistic director of Indigenous Theatre at the National Arts Centre. He’s also artistic director of Savage Society and has been shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award for Drama. But a quarter-century ago, Loring was a little-known student enrolled in the Studio 58 theatre program at Langara College.
David Suzuki: CBC could be a beacon in turbulent times
Pancouver primarily focuses on underrepresented artists. However, it also publishes a column by David Suzuki to advance education about critical issues, including this one about the future of the CBC. If we measured the amount of space and time devoted to issues in news outlets, we would conclude audiences are most interested in politics, business, sports, and entertainment. This is astonishing when we consider the impact of science when applied by industry, medicine, and the military.
Thea Loo and Jeremiah Reyes address universal themes, including parent-child relationships, by turning camera on themselves in Inay (Mama)
When Thea Loo set out to produce and direct a documentary about Canada’s live-in caregiver program, she had two things in mind. First off, she had a personal motivation—helping her husband, cinematographer Jeremiah Reyes, cope with his depression. If the two of them made Inay (Mama) together, Loo wondered if Reyes might develop a healthier relationship with his mother, a former live-in caregiver.
Québécois musician Yves Lambert and his Grand Orchestre will perform La Bottine Souriante songs at Festival du Bois
One of the legends of Québécois traditional music will perform in Victoria and Coquitlam on successive nights. Yves Lambert and his Grand Orchestre will play his first date at 7 p.m. on Friday (March 7) at Alix Goolden Performance Hall (907 Pandora Avenue). Then at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday (March 8), Lambert and his Grand Orchestre will close the daylong series of performances at Festival du Bois in Mackin Park. Lambert, a mesmerizing accordionist and singer, co-founded La Bottine Souriante in 1976.
In NiiMisSak: Sisters in Film, Jules Koostachin shows how Alanis Obomsawin continues inspiring Indigenous women filmmakers
Vancouver filmmaker Jules Arita Koostachin describes Alanis Obomsawin as the “Indigenous matriarch” of documentary filmmaking in Canada. The 92-year-old Obomsawin has completed 57 films over the years. These works include the landmark Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance, which was released by the National Film Board of Canada in 1993. In a phone interview with Pancouver, Koostachin praises Obomsawin for “truth speaking”, as well as her political and sociological approach to filmmaking.
David Suzuki: The widening gulf between Big Oil, politicians, and humanity
Pancouver primarily focuses on underrepresented artists. However, it also publishes a column by David Suzuki to advance education about critical issues, including this one about the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico. Without a habitable Earth, there will be no arts and culture. Maybe we should go along with U.S. President Donald Trump’s distraction of renaming the Gulf of Mexico “Gulf of America”.
Pi Theatre's A Taste of Hong Kong dishes up healthy serving of history with street food and snacks
Whenever theatre artist Derek Chan (陳嘉昊) embarks on a new project, he asks a simple question: why are we doing this? The Hong Kong-born Chan had an easy answer for himself when it came to A Taste of Hong Kong. That’s because this show offers a reminder of the pride and determination of Hong Kong people, who’ve endured difficult times in recent years. “First and foremost, please don’t forget about Hong Kong,” Chan tells Pancouver over Zoom.
I’m Still Here: a vibrant testament to female resilience that mourns Brazil’s dark past
By Belén Vidal, King’s College London Director Walter Salles’s first feature film , the Oscar-nominated I’m Still Here is a return to home ground, and a return to strength, for the Brazilian auteur. At 68, Salles reconnects with his youth, telling a story in which he does not figure, but takes up the role of witness to the pain of others. I’m Still Here is adapted from the autobiographical novel Ainda Estou Aqui by Salles’s contemporary, the writer Marcelo Rubens Paiva.
Writer-director Sepideh Yadegar shines light on invisible struggles of an international student in One Must Wash Eyes
Vancouver filmmaker Sepideh Yadegar drew on her own experience as an international student in writing and directing One Must Wash Eyes. It tells the story of Sahar, an international student from Iran, whose life is turned upside down after she is photographed at a Women, Life, Freedom protest in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
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