TORONTO, September 18, 2026 – The film Wuhan Mission, set in Wuhan in 1938, held a special screening in the Greater Toronto Area on the evening of September 17, launching a three-city cultural exchange tour in Canada through Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver. Cheng Hongbo, Deputy Consul General of the Chinese Consulate General in Toronto, attended the event and delivered remarks. Markham Regional Councillor Joe Li, Canada Hubei Chamber of Commerce president Deng Jixin, Beijing ZJS Express chairman and Chushang Golf Association president Chen Xianbao, as well as representatives from local cultural, business, media and Chinese community groups, also attended the screening.
In his remarks, Cheng congratulated Wuhan Mission on its Canada tour and expressed support for the film’s efforts to tell Wuhan’s history through cinema and promote cultural exchange between China and other countries.
Li also brought a congratulatory letter from Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti and members of Markham City Council. Markham and Wuhan have been sister cities since 2006. The arrival of a film based on Wuhan’s history in the Greater Toronto Area added new content to the long-running community and cultural exchange between the two cities.
Originally titled Wuhan 1938, Wuhan Mission is directed and produced by Hubei-born filmmaker Guo Hongtao. Set in Wuhan in 1938, the film begins with a shipment of emergency medical supplies from North America. A police officer, opera troupe members, dockworkers, soldiers and ordinary people from different walks of life are brought together by a mission to escort a box of medicine.
During the post-screening discussion, Guo said the film does not aim to portray its characters as distant or unreachable heroes. Instead, it focuses on the choices ordinary people make in a special historical moment. She said that on the surface, the film tells the story of delivering a box of life-saving medicine to the place where it is needed most, but on a deeper level, it is about how a group of ordinary people make their own decisions in the face of history.
Deng Jixin, president of the Canada Hubei Chamber of Commerce, is also one of the producers of Wuhan Mission and took part in advancing the film and coordinating its Canada events. Chen Xianbao and other business representatives from Hubei also travelled to Canada to support the film’s cultural exchange activities in North America.
That evening, the “1938 Hope Box” made its first appearance in Toronto. Audience members placed messages to Wuhan, as well as wishes for peace, hope and the future, into the box. According to the event plan, the Hope Box will continue along the route of Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Wuhan, and will eventually be brought back to Wuhan by the film team.
The design echoes the “box of life-saving medicine” in the film. Organizers said they hope to extend the film’s historical thread into today’s audience exchange, allowing messages from different Canadian cities to return with the film to the place where the story is set.
Toronto is the first stop of the film’s Canada tour. The team will next travel to Ottawa and Vancouver. According to the current plan, Wuhan Mission will hold its premiere in Wuhan on October 12 and be released theatrically in China on October 19. The production team also plans to begin a North American theatrical release around the 2027 Lunar New Year period.
The film is 93 minutes long and combines history, suspense, dark humour and ensemble storytelling. It has already received its film public screening permit.（LJI by Yuanyuan）
