EVENTS
About
Dedicated to the Asian diaspora, celebrating our community’s creativity.
Dedicated to the ESEA diaspora, Steam Steam Day Up! recreates a day in the life of second generation British-Chinese dry cleaner, Tony Chung, who owns Haggerston’s longest-serving local business – The Steam Room. With a clientele ranging from locals to independent fashion brands, including Simone Rocha, Roksanda, and CMMN SWDN, this film captures how ‘ordinary’ yet regularly overlooked people, like Tony, are irreplaceable parts to fashion’s life cycle and the East London community.
The title of the film originates from the literal translation of the Chinese idiom, 蒸蒸日上, which uses the imagery of steam to imply a gradually flourishing life. Referring not only to the store’s name but also the often-undiscussed British-Chinese immigration history — sailors who first arrived on steamships, cooks who worked with steamed cuisine, and launderers who steamed clothes — “steam” has become the thread that interweaves generations of immigrants together. With Tony and Uncle Chung’s intergenerational connection, Steam Steam Day Up! aspires to be a long-overdue conversation with your younger self, inspiring the audience to embrace identity and heritage in a post-pandemic world.
Steam Steam Day Up! is not merely a personal record but also intends to be the first step towards understanding wider stories of the marginalised yet inseparable communities of society and fashion. Employing an all-Asian team, this project aims to celebrate our community’s creativity alongside the 20th anniversary of the store.
For more information on the project, please visit the documentary’s official instagram: @steamsteam.docu
Download the official press release here
Credits
Director: Jane Zheng 郑单
Videographer: Hester Yang 杨越乔 / Anderson Hung 洪绍崴 / Julie Zhang 章竟 / Jane Zheng 郑单
Colour Grader: Wai Jong Christina Poon 潘慧中
Original Soundtrack Composer: Yolka 叶卡
Graphic Designer: Carina Zhang 张译丹