THE LAST STITCH

China/Hong Kong/Canada, 2019, 70 minuten

Alfred Sung

Engels ondertiteld

Inclusief nagesprek met modeontwerper Joline Jolink.

“Eenvoud is leidraad in alles wat ik doe en maak.
Elk kledingstuk ontstaat uit pure concentratie en liefde voor het modevak.
Ik zoek continu naar het meest ultieme ontwerp. Gemaakt van goede materialen; dat voel je, dat zie je.”

The Last Stitch

Dit intieme portret door Alfred Sung neemt ons mee van Shanghai naar Hong Kong en Toronto. De film gaat over een Chinese kleermakersfamilie, migratie en het verdwijnen van traditioneel vakmanschap.

“The cheongsam was once the daily attire of all Chinese women, no matter what their size or shape. In the skilled hands of a tailor, even an ordinary piece of fabric could be shaped into a beautiful garment transforming the wearer into an elegant figure. Each button, sleeve, and collar was testament to the accomplishments of these traditional craftsmen.

Shanghai was once the capital of the cheongsam and base of many a master tailor. But during the unstable years of the Communist Revolution, many of these skilled craftsmen fled to Hong Kong. Among those forced to relocate were Master Sung and his family, including his son Tommy. Growing up in the trade, Tommy was apprenticed to his father as soon as he was old enough and learned the skills of the two generations of tailors who had come before him. When his father passed away, Tommy and his wife Connie worked hard to keep the family business going, despite the growth of the mass-produced garment industry.

As many of those who had come of age in a Hong Kong ruled over by the British, Tommy and Connie were greatly worried by the imminent handover of sovereignty to China in 1997. Unwilling to await the economic instability, they decided to emigrate to Canada in 1996. Arriving in a foreign land with their two sons, the couple made good use of their tailoring skills, rebuilding their family business from the ground up. Twenty years on, they are now ready to retire. But what will happen to the traditional skills that have been in their family for three generations? Are their sons interested in this inheritance?

In 2016, Tommy and Connie’s eldest son, Alfred, decided to return to the family home in Toronto from Hong Kong to explore his family’s story and find out what the future holds. It’s a story that takes us from Shanghai to Hong Kong and Toronto, reflecting the history of the Chinese diaspora as well as the rise and fall of traditional craftsmanship.”