We are moving stories

“The story is personal to me as that of a young girl being pinballed around by the pressures of a winner-takes-all social machinery. And since we all know what it feels to be outsiders, trying to fit into a world that makes demands of us, my protagonist’s struggle becomes a universal struggle.”

“This side of China has never been shown to the western media because the government discourages it, and as a result Western culture has had little access to it. For this reason, I decided that I wanted to use my camera to take people to places that they have never been. I believe that exposure of this issue was the first step in the movement to bring equality to people who have unheard voices in their country.”

“The story not only gives most of the US audience a glance at a completely foreign world, a family in the rural Gobi Desert, but also touches you with nuanced performances, reserved yet authentic emotions and a universal theme: we all want to get validation from our closest family.”

“It’s a little like a poem of early spring. Maybe you will enjoy the season, maybe you will feel something in the wind.”

“One day at a restaurant, trying to convince me, my mom told me the day she birthed me, my father was so disappointed I was a girl, he couldn’t talk for an hour. She said it so casually, but I immediately came to tears, and it changed my relationship with my father forever.”

“This is a story I’ve been wanting to tell for a long time. I feel like everyone has one story that has shaped the trajectory of their life and defined who they are today. For me, going back to China to work for the family business is that story. I learned a lot about myself in the 12 years I spent working for the family business, and making this film was a really cathartic experience.”

“Parents were calling their kids way more often than usual, and a lot of my friends have pondered the same question as myself: what if something happens to me? How will my parents handle the news? The pandemic pushed everyone to rethink what it means to be away from home and how connections are maintained or lost with this distance.”

“There is a balance and cohabitation in China where everything organically finds its place but in France where I live for example, you would not find yourself with that wide a gamut of society on the same sidewalk. Which trigged a question in my mind: how would envy work in the mind of a young man born to a lower class family if his day job was to park cars that cost 100 times what he would practically be able to make in a lifetime?”

“I have roots in the technology industry and have seen some astonishing new technologies in development. I had always wondered, “how is that going to impact our society and humanity?” Especially after I had my baby, I’m more conscious about the fate of our future generations. This is where the idea for Zalla came from.”

“I hope that this can be one of the first Chinese sci-fi films that can be understood and enjoyed by both western and eastern audiences. Sci-fi is one of those genres that can do this, and it’s about time we tell stories from all perspectives.”

“As a queer woman of color, I am constantly fighting for gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights through cinema. By making this film, I am able to not only represent myself but also my community.”

“As an autographical filmmaker making my films is a way to understand myself and express myself. I want to be as honest as I can be with my works to communicate with my audience, to express a certain feeling or memory, to let my audience know we are not alone. And most of them time, they also let me know that I’m not alone.”

“Even though not everyone understands the terms FOB (fresh off the boat) or CBC (Canadian born Chinese), but the struggle to “fit in a group” is universal. This struggle is real and sometimes could be harsh to bare. Judgements and different perceptions are haunting sometimes. The feeling of being different can be uncomfortable and scary, as if being stared at. And even though we dislike being judged, we ourselves cannot avoid being guilty of judging others, labelling people with stereotypes and putting others in categories.”

“I think this short set out to achieve something unique and very minimalist – it’s seven minutes long and it only consists of four long takes. The film offers a glimpse into the four moments of brief but intricate interaction between a single-mother and her son. It’s like I pry open someone’s diary and can only read four chapters of it.”

“Ritoma is a village in transition: it struggles between the traditions of the past and the beckoning of the future. Basketball is an exciting metaphor of Ritoma’s modernization.”

“Our main character is a five-year-old Tibetan novice. He is like every young child, he craves attention and love. The monks have only limited materialistic things yet to be happy doesn’t require much. Living with them also teaches me to not to take life experiences for granted.”

“When I was researching stories for my graduation project, I spoke to a few friends in India and found out about the first group of nuns to ever graduate after studying for 21 years. I wanted to understand how a community that has lost their country could survive in exile and what it means. I made this film because I felt inspired and intrigued by the stories of our characters that sacrificed a lot to get an education and to live the way they wanted. Despite their struggles they managed to create more equality in their community.”

“CHRISTY: If you are someone fascinated by artists, their processes, their backstories, and drawn to stories about human rights, this film is for you. And if you are as interested in the work and life of Ai Weiwei as we are, you know why you’re there!”

“This films is about family, so really it is for everyone. Whether you come from a close family or one with fraught relationships, you will find something to relate to. If you are interested in the tenacity of the human spirit and in exploring the complicated nature of familial love and obligation, this is the film for you. You should watch it because we must all, at some point ask ourselves: how much are we willing to sacrifice for the greater good?”

“The film was invited into competition at Hot Docs, and they singled out Letter from Masanjia in their promotional materials twice: “can’t stop talking about” and “restored our faith in humanity” programmers’ picks. The film was featured in the Globe and Mail, POV Magazine, Maclean’s and even on CTV News. There seems to be a huge interest in sharing this story, which is amazing. We have heard from many reporters and audience members that the film had a profound impact on them and that many were brought to tears. It’s a tragic story but they feel hope in sharing it, as do I.”

“We felt this story spoke to themes of freedom of belief and freedom of speech, which are important. Also, there was a really unique opportunity to explore the story through this artist’s point of view, to follow him as he seeks to understand an event that upended his life by recreating the event artistically. This had the potential to showcase the role that art can play in bringing understanding and healing, which was very interesting to me.”

“The making of this film required an immense amount of patience and persistence – teenagers are moody and unpredictable, and they don’t care to bend to your schedule. Their lives are rich, colorful and ever shifting, the very reasons why they make fascinating characters on screen. This also meant that we had to be very flexible and sensitive, sometimes riding along their emotional roller coasters or just waiting it out.”

“CHINA LOVE offers a different side of China from the stories you see in the newspaper. It is a humanitarian story that allows a cross section of people to offer up their stories. It allows us to empathise with the complexity that exists in such a rapidly changing landscape while also having some fun along the way. For those that love photography, we get to witness how powerful it is in this industry in creating dreams for a culture that is coming out of a period of trauma.”

“While traveling through China, I met this couple who were about to celebrate their 50th anniversary. It’s hard to grasp 50 years together and the totality of those years. I’ve been married for only 5 years now and here was this couple who were open and willing to discuss their marriage and their ups and downs. I felt like it’s a story we should hear more of.”

“Master Tseng is the first female Chinese Tea Master in China, and one of the finest noses in the world. But what struck me most about her is her ability to find absolute peace by drinking tea. Watching this movie gives you this quiet and calm inner sensation. It brings you to this place where nothing else but sensations matter. In our daily lives filled with anxiety and stress, moments of inner peace are precious.”

“We shot Thousand Pieces of Gold on 35mm film and it was fading into obscurity - people could only see our film online and on pirated DVDs that looked awful. But Sandra Schulberg, a visionary in the independent film world, created IndieCollect, a non-profit organization that saves and restores American independent films so they can be seen in state-of-the-art digital formats. With their Kinetta archival scanner, we’ve been able to make a 4K restoration of TPOG and now, new audiences can see it as I originally intended it – with amazing golden light in the nighttime interiors, a painfully gritty gold rush town and stunning vistas in the Rocky Mountains.”

“At its core, the film explores a deeply personal theme through the intimate encounter of two strangers. Their journey serves as a microcosm for the human experience, reflecting the complexities of isolation, despair, and the transient nature of human connections.”