Director Julie Zhu's love letter to a Chinese East Auckland community follows her grandmother as she carries out what may seem a mundane task — grocery shopping. But to Fang Ruzhen, her daily ritual of buying food is what connects her to several other aged Chinese grandparents, who hop on buses in large groups to head to the supermarket. Ruzhen moved to New Zealand nearly 20 years ago to help look after her grandson. Now she is 79 and can barely speak any English. "Going shopping every day…well, that’s our strength. Without this, what would we do?"
To me, this was a unique story of immigrant grandparents who come here to take care of their grandchildren while their adult children work, knowingly sacrificing the familiarity of their own homes and language for their future generations to thrive.– Director Julie Zhu
Made with funding from NZ On Air, as well as the NZ Film Commission, Te Māngai Pāho and Lotto
Log in
×