The forgotten

The most thought-provoking part of the documentary is not just what happened to the Chinese passengers, but their poignant life paths as early-generation immigrants struggling against discrimination and racism, as well as fears that they might be forced to lose everything they had strived for.

"Nobody ever claimed them. Nobody ever talked about them. …There is a deep psychological wound that the generation suffered, which is not just about 'can I survive?' or money. There's something else that sits inside their hearts or minds," says Jones, adding that many Chinese immigrant laborers didn't get married, with their families ending with them.

The most highlighted survivor in the documentary is Fang, who had not told his survival story to his family with whom he later lived in the US.

The production team found limited records on the lives of the six survivors after the disaster other than their movement to different countries.

In 2019, when the documentary was in postproduction, Jones and Schwankert were watching a scene in Cameron's film Titanic about a young Chinese man floating with a piece of wood. The shot was among more than 20 scenes cut from the theatrically released version, but kept in DVD copies. Realizing that the character could be the archetype of Fang in their project, Jones contacted a lawyer of Cameron, and was surprised to learn that Cameron had heard about their documentary and was willing to accept their interview.