SAUGUS — Since 1950, Kowloon, formerly the Mandarin House, has been on Route 1 in Saugus. In 1958, it received its iconic name based on the peninsula in Hong Kong. Now, with plans to downsize, the restaurant has produced an award-winning documentary, titled “Kowloon!”
The short documentary, made by Mona Xia and Erin Ramirez, was shown at the Boston Asian American Film Festival (BAAFF), where it took home the Audience Award. The award is given to the film that receives the most votes from the audience, according to the BAAFF website. The documentary was also included as a 2024 official selection at the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM), a Special Mention Best Documentary Film at Palm Springs International Short Fest 2024, and an American Film Institute Festival (AFI Fest) Special Mention.
The documentary premiered on Oct. 16 during the festival. However, it finally went live on Monday to the public as a Vimeo Staff Pick. It explains the history of the restaurant and what the future holds for it.
“They reached out to us unexpectedly. I guess they found it interesting and perhaps a fun story to tell of a restaurant looking to downsize after about 70 years of being open,” Kawloon co-owner Bob Wong said.
Filming started back in 2023, with Xia and Ramirez spending many hours at the restaurant and was finally completed in February of this year, according to Wong.
“They were here for quite a while coming and going and a lot didn’t make the cut. They had to pick and choose what looked right. We had a lot of our customer base interested in being a part of the film and be interviewed for it which was fun,” he said. “It’s a lot of history. We’ve been here for so long. It’s fun to have for the archives.”
Wong explained that with the family getting older it is more difficult to sustain the large restaurant, which is why they are preparing for a downsize.
The documentary can be found on Vimeo Staff Picks and is approximately 15 minutes long.
