ARGENCHINO is an independently produced documentary about the Chinese supermarkets in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
As Argentina slowly recovers from the 2001 devaluation of the peso, it may seem an unlikely resting spot for Chinese expatriates. Although it is a story that has been told by many newly emigrated groups in decades past– Koreans in New York City, Chinese in San Francisco—it holds a unique meaning in present day Argentina.
Chinese immigrants have opened thousands of independently owned supermarkets that have flourished in Buenos Aires. Yet however popular these markets are, the Chinese immigrant population has been met with rampant stereotyping as the country struggles to rebuild its place in a global economy. As a new population of immigrants find relative economic success, they are met with a fabrication of myth that has pervaded so profoundly as truth, as to create a dramatic and definite divide between the two cultures.
The “supermercados chinos”, as they are called, have become a symbol of Chinese immigration in Buenos Aires and now define an entire group of immigrant culture. This documentary explores the recent wave of Chinese immigration and their role in a 21st century Argentina.
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Director: Julia Reagan
Run Time: 43 minutes (version 1)
Language: Castellano and English (subtitles: English and Spanish)
Year: 2008/2009
Country: Argentina
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ARGENCHINO es un documental independiente sobre los supermercados chinos en Buenos Aires, Argentina.
A medida que Argentina lentamente se recupera de la devaluación del peso que tuvo lugar en 2001, no parece ser el lugar más atractivo para que se establezcan los chinos expatriados. Aunque esto mismo ya lo han vivido varios grupos que emigraron durante las últimas décadas, como es el caso de los coreanos en Nueva York y los chinos en San Francisco, esta historia encierra un significado único en el contexto de la Argentina actual.
Los inmigrantes chinos abrieron miles de supermercados que administran en forma independiente y que han prosperado en Buenos Aires. A pesar de que estos supermercados son populares, los inmigrantes chinos se han tenido que enfrentar a un estereotipo negativo que crece en forma desenfrenada a medida que el país lucha por recuperar su lugar dentro de una economía globalizada. Mientras la nueva población de inmigrantes tiene un éxito económico relativo, debe enfrentarse con la creación de un mito que ha prevalecido profundamente como verdad, e incluso ha originado una división dramática y definitiva entre las dos culturas.
Los “supermercados chinos”, como se los denomina, se han convertido en un símbolo de la inmigración china en Buenos Aires y ahora definen a todo un grupo de cultura inmigrante. Este documental explora la reciente ola de inmigración china y el papel que ésta tiene en la Argentina del siglo XXI.
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Directora: Julia Reagan
43 minutos (version 1)
Lenguaje: castellano + ingles
Ano: 2008/2009
Pais: Argentina
ArgenChino 
[…] American director Julia Reagan has released her project, ArgenChino, into the independent film festival circuit, and is getting all kinds of acclaim. The film gets inside the story behind the ubiquitous Asian-owned supermarkets in Buenos Aires, standardly called ‘chinos.’ Thousands of such grocery stores dot the city, and can be found on nearly every block in many of the central neighborhoods. For more on where the grocers come from and what the chino means to Argentina, as well as trailers and Reagan’s own notes on the film, click here. […]