Content
Skip to Main ContentAccessibility Help
Television

Drawn Together: portraits honouring Asian Canadians

To honour Asian Heritage Month, we wanted to celebrate the storytellers who have helped weave Asian culture into Canada’s diverse tapestry with their films, television, and craft.

Featuring actors and filmmakers whose works can be seen on CBC Gem during Asian Heritage Month.

Michelle Villagracia · Television ·

To honour Asian Heritage Month, we wanted to celebrate the storytellers who have helped weave Asian culture into Canada's diverse tapestry with their films, television, and craft. Featuring actors and filmmakers whose works can be seen on CBC Gem, 31 portraits were commissioned for each day of month.

(Illustrated by Dylan Glynn)

Featuring: Sandra Oh (Double Happiness, Meditation Park), Kunal Nayyar (Dr. Cabbie), David Suzuki (The Nature of Things), Ronny Chieng (Ronny Chieng: International Student), Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Kim's Convenience), Kristin Kreuk (Burden of Truth)

I don't think films and books change the world. I think if you're lucky you start some kind of dialogue.- Deepa Mehta

Kristin Kreuk shared her portrait on Instagram and launched a conversation with her followers about their own heritage story, and they responded with heartfelt stories about their backgrounds.

(Illustrated by Dylan Glynn)

Featuring: Deepa Mehta (Water, Heaven on Earth, Beeba Boys), Emily Piggford (Warigami), Anupam Kher (Breakaway), Sugith Varughese (Kim's Convenience), Andrea Bang (Kim's Convenience), Jessalyn Wanlim (Workin' Moms)

Growing up, I never saw anybody like me on the screen.- Jessalyn Wanlim

Being seen and represented was a common struggle for many of the people featured in this series of portraits, as well as that of our audience. While we still have a long way to go, each image was able to shine the light on someone who was that representation on screen for many other people.

(Illustrated by Dylan Glynn)

Featuring: Rizwan Manji (Dr. Cabbie, Schitt's Creek), Antony Hall (Ming's Dynasty), Mina Shum (Double Happiness, Meditation Park), Russell Peters (Breakaway), Kai Bradbury (Warigami), Vivian Wu (Eve & the Fire Horse)

Our strength has been and always will be diversity.- Paul Sun-Hyung Lee
(Illustrated by Dylan Glynn)

Featuring: Jean Yoon (Kim's Convenience), Supinder Wraich (The 410), Andrew Phung (Kim's Convenience), Vinay Virmani (Breakaway, Dr. Cabbie), Pei-Pei Cheng (Meditation Park), Romesh Ranganathan (The Reluctant Landlord)

It's an honour just to be Asian.- Sandra Oh
(Illustrated by Dylan Glynn)

Featuring: Nelu Handa (Workin, Moms), Simu Liu (Kim's Convenience), Devyn Nekoda (Utopia Falls), Anthony Brandon Wong (The Family Law), Tzi Ma (Meditation Park), Preity Zinto (Heaven on Earth), and Franco Nguyen (Tallyboyz)

You can stream all these films and TV shows right now on CBC Gem. 

Illustrations by Dylan Glynn. Every portrait can be found on our Instagram.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michelle Villagracia

Michelle Villagracia is a writer and producer for CBC Life and CBC Arts who loves to bake and uses movie quotes to express real human emotions. She also tries to insert D&D or her cat into every conversation. Follow her on Instagram @mivi3k.