Poland is my second hometown, where I spent six years of my childhood. This documentary was filmed mainly during my visit back there in the summer of 2026. After over ten years, I wanted to investigate firsthand whether the community where I used to live had changed, especially under the influx of Ukrainian war refugees.

To make this documentary come to life, I did thorough pre-filming preparations. I reached out to old friends and contacts in order to connect with potential interviewees. These included, but were not limited to, a Chinese auntie who used to and continues to be our translator & guide on this trip, local Polish tour guides who have fascinating and insightful knowledge about Poland's history and its intersections with Ukraine, a Ukrainian pastor who led humanitarian missions, and a Chinese family who fled Kyiv to Warsaw.

On this ten-day filming trip, not only did I interview multiple sources, but I was also able to revisit old friends and places familiar to me since childhood, as well as have new experiences of how the Soviet Union intertwined Polish and Ukrainian history & culture. These new experiences helped reshape Poland for me—it no longer merely meant the second hometown that welcomed me and my family with hospitality, but also made me ask why this hospitality was fostered here—by asking questions to people on the streets and learning local history in museums.

Therefore, the central question of this documentary I made, "Who Is My Neighbor?", is a question for Ukrainians seeking refuge within a brother culture, for Poland extending universal love, and last but not least, for me, who started to understand the support my family and I experienced the first time we were here. Whether it was the local teachers who cared for and helped a little Chinese boy (me) through kindergarten and primary school or the Chinese auntie who helped my mother give birth to my little brother, I guess they are all my "neighbors" to some extent. And this time, without them, it would be impossible for this documentary to be presented to you today.