The creative brains behind this gem of a trailer are filmmakers Richard Wong and Wayne Wang.

It succeeds on many levels, including the opening scene, playfulness the participants exhibit, colors and shading and juxtaposition next to Chinatown workers in New York City.

And did you catch that guy on guitar? And how the woman keeps her arms crossed in the beginning? 

If you’re going to be in New York City on Sept. 28, drop by Tribeca Cinemas at 54 Varick St. to catch this short and others at the Chinatown Film Project.

The newly-expanded Museum of Chinese in America is sponsoring the event which features prominent filmmakers.

Among the films that caught my interest is Fortune Cookie directed by Amir Naderi. I don’t know anything about his film. So, I won’t speculate. But I like fortune cookies.

Tickets are limited for the 7 p.m. event on Monday. You’ll have to RSVP to rsvptaa1(at)tribecafilminstitute(dot)org by this Friday.

The evening will feature 10 short films that answer the basic question: How do you see Chinatown?

If you can’t make the Sept. 28 event, it looks like the Apple Store in SoHo will host the film project at 7 p.m. from Sept. 30 to Oct. 1. Contact the museum for details.

But the museum has a YouTube channel for the Chinatown Film Project and is posting short videos from people documenting their Chinatowns around the globe and stories.

So, if you’ve got the video or film bug, start visualizing your story.

So, how did Wong and Wang come up with their catchy ditty and short film concept?

Wang explains it on the museum’s Web site page about the film project.

In the video interview, Wang talked about how Wong came up with the idea of a musical. But Wang paired it with ordinary people who live and work in Chinatown.

His thought: 

What if we do a musical of the working stiffs of Chinatown? People that you normally don’t see if you walk through the main part of Mott Street….People who are kind of more behind the scenes…(who are) the real heart of Chinatown.

Wang is known for directing The Joy Luck Club.

When I was a teenager, I saw his brilliant and gentle film, Dim Sum.

The Museum of Chinese in America opened its doors in Manhattan’s Chinatown in 1980 as a grassroots organization dedicated largely to preserving immigrant stories.

On Tuesday, supporters and designer Maya Lin will usher in a new phase in its history of documenting, interpreting and explaining by welcoming guests to its new 14,000-square-foot home.

Located at 215 Centre St., the museum - which reportedly cost $8 million – faces Manhattan’s Chinatown and incorporates modern lines in its entrance as well as an untouched, sky-lit courtyard in what was a machine shop.

In the above video posted on YouTube, Lin discussed her thoughts behind the museum design:

As you enter the museum, it will talk about this combination of our past and our present, old and new. And that is a dance that is played out throughout the design of this space.

The main exhibition is “With a Single Step: Stories in the Making of America,” which examines Chinese American history since the 1850s. The exhibition is centered around the courtyard and uses film as one device to illustrate history.

The new museum also features galleries, interactive kiosks, an auditorium, a classroom and a research center.

Museum co-founder Charles Lai told The Associated Press:

When people come to Chinatown, they are saying, ‘Oh, look there’s the Buddhist temple, the place where ducks hang from the window and let me get to the place with the knockoff Coach bags….There is another part of the story. There are complexities and realities in the Chinese American community.

Those complexities and experiences will have much more room to be showcased and discussed, compared to the museum’s former location which occupied 2,000-square-feet and sat about half a mile away at 70 Mulberry St.

Museum Director S. Alice Mong talked about having more exhibition space in a statement posted on the organization’s Web site:

Our new location will allow the museum to look at that experience through many different lenses and bring 160 years of our history to vivid life through innovative art and history exhibitions, films, panels and educational and cultural programs.

Said Lin in the same statement:

The space was designed to show the dynamic presentation of the Chinese American story, as an integral part of the greater, and continually evolving, American story.

To launch the new site, the museum will have free admission from Tuesday through Saturday.

In addition to Lin, who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., the museum received support from architect I.M. Pei, playwright David Henry Hwang, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and film director Ang Lee, according to an Associated Press article by Suzanne Ma.

There are many organizations in the United States that focus on Chinese American history.

Among them:

• The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
• The Chinese Historical Society of America
• The Chinese Historical Society of Southern California
• The Chicago Chinese American Historical Society
• The Chinese American Museum of Chicago
• The San Diego Chinese Historical Museum
• The Chinese American Museum

But in the Seattle to New York City corridor, there are two museum bookends – of sorts.

Although The Wing Luke Asian Museum is a pan-Asian institution, it sits near the Pacific Ocean just as the Museum of Chinese in America rests near the Atlantic Ocean.

Note: I want to thank the Museum of Chinese in America for letting me know about the opening, as well as Associated Press reporter Suzanne Ma for filing her informative story.

Also, thanks to the Chinese Historical Society of America for linking to other organizations, which I listed above.

Update: The New York Times covers the new museum location in an article by Edward Rothstein, who also visited Seattle when the new Wing Luke Asian Museum opened last year.

My mom’s friend, John Jung, also sent this story about Stockton, Calif. resident Bonnie Lew, who had plans to attend the opening.

Her family’s story will be featured in a multimedia exhibition.