Historical Notes
In 1838, Britain ended slavery totally within its Empire. Cuban and Spanish slave traders in the West Indies turned to China for workers, known as Coolies. As importing Chinese labour was cheaper than hiring illicit African slaves, thousands of Chinese came to work on their sugar plantations and tobacco farms. In 1847, the first group arrived in Havana; only 206 of the 300, had survived the perilous journey of four months. Between 1847 – 1860, it is estimated more than 130,000 coolies arrived, mostly young men. But there were a few women amongst them, and this is the story of one of them.
Script Synopsis
The Cuban Coolie is an epic 19th-century tale of romance that crosses continents. It is the story of Chulin, (Louise Wong – Wang Tan Ni), a poor orphaned Chinese girl who leaves her home in southern China and ventures thousands of miles to Cuba to repay a family debt. She is intended as a bride for Tung Ho, (Joseph Chang – Zhang Xiao Quan), who was a Chinese rebel against the Qing Emperor and has escaped to Cuba. As he can never return to his homeland, he writes home asking for a bride. Tung Ho works for one of the richest sugar cane plantation owners in Cuba, Don Leonardo Alejandro Ortega (Mauricio Henao). Fate intervenes and Chulin finds her destiny forever changed. The bitter life of the Chinese coolie is shown through the experiences of Chulin as she struggles to adapt to a country she had never imagined being in and to two men she had never met. Against the backdrop of Chinese slavery and the beginnings of Cuba’s fight for independence from Spain, Chulin’s life transcends all historical, social and racial barriers to reach a climatic conclusion. It is this ‘marriage‘ of two cultures that ends the series on a note of great hope, not only in terms of independence from a tortuous colonial past but with a dream for a brighter future.
The Cast
The eight-episode English and Chinese language drama series is a global production from Singapore-based Cathay Film Company and features a multinational ensemble cast from 40 countries including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Cuba and Colombia. Louise Wong (“A Guilty Conscience,” “Anita”) one of Hong Kong’s biggest rising stars and a top model, stars as the female lead alongside Taiwanese actor Joseph Chang (“Eternal Summer,” “Girlfriend Boyfriend”), Colombian actor and TV personality Mauricio Henao (“La Herencia,” “Panama”), and Cuban actors Camila Arteche (“El acompanante,” “Sergio & Serguei”), Sian Chiong (“La Mexicana y el Guero,” “Fidel’s Daughter”) and Mario Cimarro (“Romeo + Juliet, “Pasión de gavilanes”).
Louise Wong as Chulin
Raised in Hong Kong, Louise Wong won the prestigious Elite modelling competition in Asia at age 16 and became one of the most sought-after models in the region. She beat 3000 actresses to land her first lead role as the Cantopop icon Anita Mui and garnered multiple accolades and awards for her captivating performance. Her second film, the courtroom drama A GUILTY CONSCIENCE, became the highest-grossing Hong Kong film to date. She is considered one of Hong Kong’s biggest rising stars.
Mauricio Henao as Leo Ortega
Mauricio Henao is a well known Colombian actor and television personality. He made his debut in 2010 and a year later Henao landed the main role of Tony in the Nickelodeon adolescent drama series Grachi, which helped him gain national and worldwide recognition. More recently, Mauricio gained widespread attention for his role as Adrian Ferrer in the Netflix hit show, “Fake Profile.”
Joseph Chang as Tung Ho (Jose)
Joseph Chang is a prominent figure in the Taiwanese entertainment industry. He gained recognition for his versatile acting skills and has become a well-respected actor both locally and internationally. One of the roles that brought Joseph Chang into the limelight was his portrayal of Ah-Kuei in the critically acclaimed film Eternal Summer (2006). This breakout performance showcased his ability to bring depth and emotional resonance to his characters, earning him praise and accolades.
Camila Arteche as Maria Ortega
Camila Arteche is a Cuban actress and television hostess. She was born in Havana and after graduating from the National School of Arts of Cuba (ENA) at the age of 17, she performed her first professional job in the television series Aquí Estamos. Ever since, Camila has been working as an actress in Radio, Movie Films, television shows and in theater with directors like Carlos Díaz, Alexis Valdés and Neher Jacqueline Brisceño.
Sian Chiong as Juan Nestor
Sian Chiong is an actor and singer from Havana, Cuba. He is known for The Heart Is Never Wrong (2019), Alina of Cuba: La Hija Rebelde and Farándula la película (2023).
Meileen on Coolie
“The story of COOLIES may be new to many and we are telling a version here with drama, action, love and intensity during a real time in history. But the overarching theme is very relevant today and is a reason its such a passion project of mine. In our modern world, we don’t realize it but slavery has not been abolished, it just has a very different face. There are women kidnapped to work unspeakable jobs, children sitting for hours weaving carpets, or workers assembling dolls in poorly ventilated factories. We are all enslaved, rich or poor – to our mobile phones, to our social classes, to the media, to power, to careers, to money. ‘Coolie’ is a series with a theme just as relevant today as the 1860s. Our intent is to make the connection entertaining, and we have a tremendously talented cast and team to realize this vision.”
Meileen Choo
Showrunner & Creator
Ms. Choo’s remarkable journey in the entertainment industry began in 1976 when she joined Cathay. She became the CEO of the Cathay Organisation Group of Companies in 1985 and successfully listed the Cathay Organisation Group of Companies on the Singapore Stock Exchange in 1998. The group owned cineplexes, distributed films, and managed cinemas in Singapore, Malaysia, and Dubai until the theatre business was sold off in 2019, just before the Covid epidemic. Today, its core business is developing and managing properties.
While Ms. Choo semi-retired in 2018, she remains an influential figure as Chairman on the Board of the Cathay Organisation Group of Companies. In addition to that role, she founded Cathay Film Company in 2020 to continue her passion for film.
Ms. Choo’s contributions extend beyond her own ventures; she served on notable boards such as NYU Tisch School of the Arts Asia when it opened its campus in 2007 and also sat on the Singapore Film Commission for many years.
Throughout her illustrious career, Ms. Choo has executive produced numerous feature films. Some notable examples include “Army Daze,” which became a record-breaking box office hit for a Singapore-made English language film; Tsui Hark’s “A Chinese Ghost Story”; Pen-Ek Ratanaruang’s “Last Life in the Universe,” starring Tadanobu Asano; Arvin Chen’s “Au Revoir Taipei;” Ho Widing’s “Our Sister Mambo;” and Atsuko Hirayanagi’s “Oh Lucy!” featuring Josh Hartnett.
Arvin Chen
Director
Arvin Chen is an award-winning Taiwanese-American writer and director based in Taipei and Los Angeles. He has an MFA in film production from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. His thesis film MEI won the Short Film Silver Bear at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival.
Arvin’s first feature film, AU REVOIR TAIPEI was executive produced by Wim Wenders and had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film. His second feature WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME TOMORROW? again premiered in Berlin and screened in the World Cinema Competition at Tribeca. Arvin’s third feature MAMA BOY, was the opening film of the Taipei Film Festival and is currently streaming on Disney+ throughout Asia.
Arvin’s latest film is the USA/Taiwan co-production LOVE IN TAIPEI, based on the New York Times best-selling YA novel and streaming exclusively on Paramount+. Arvin recently directed several episodes of PACHINKO (Season 2) for Apple TV+.
Arvin on Coolie
“The world of ‘Coolie’ is a captivating and unique multicultural world that I never knew existed, and I’m excited to work with our amazing cast and crew to bring that world back to life.”
In-Ah Lee
Executive Producer
n-Ah Lee was raised and educated in Hamburg, Germany. After graduating from law school, she worked at Hamburg based SPIEGEL TV where she directed and produced long and short documentary formats and talk shows. She relocated to Los Angeles specializing in international productions and co-productions.
Her producing credits include LAND OF PLENTY (Venice 2004, Competition) and DON’T COME KNOCKIN’ (Cannes 2005, Competition) by Wim Wenders, THE WAY I SPENT THE END OF THE WORLD, a French Romanian co-production with director Catalin Mitulescu (Cannes 2006, Un Certain Regard, Best Actress Award), Grace Lee’s THE GRACE LEE PROJECT (SXSW 2005) and AMERICAN ZOMBIE (Slamdance 2007), WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME TOMORROW (Tribeca 2013) and AU REVOIR, TAIPEI (Berlin 2010, NETPAC Award) by Arvin Chen, for which she was nominated for the 2011 Independent Spirit Producing Award. Lee has served on many film festival juries (Berlin International Film Festival, Skip City, Asiana Short Film Festival) and shared her expertise in co-productions and foreign location productions on professional industry panels. Lee currently resides in Seoul, Korea, where she oversees all Asian business for the German based Markenfilm Group and develops television and feature film projects.
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The story of Chinese migration to Cuba is very fresh.. my commercial background told me if I could have both Chinese- and Spanish- speaking audiences, that’s huge.
Official Posters
