On the afternoon of October 12th, documentary works of the 2017 USC/CUC Global Exchange Workshop made their debut in CUC. Eight documentaries directed and filmed by CUC students and their partners in University of Southern California met the public. Professors from Faculty of Arts, the directors and a number of students attended the activity.
At the beginning, Guan Ling, deputy dean of School of Drama, TV and Cinematic Arts made a brief introduction about the workshop.
Combined creative themes with unique angles, the documentaries focus on immigrants, community, agriculture, the Internet, traditional culture and other aspects of American society, which demonstrates a strong feature of cross-culture exchanges.
In the end of each documentary, teachers made comments and the directors discussed with the audience in terms of topic, background music and shooting angles.
"The workshop is fantastic, we need to continue to do that.” Prof. Bi said. In the end of the activity, Prof. Bi Genhui of Faculty of Arts made his comments on the works. In his opinion, students should broaden their horizons and absorb advanced theory of making documentary under the current international situation.
Students involved in this project also shared their experiences. Liu Puyu, one of the participants, said what impressed him most was the different teaching method between the two countries. In America, teachers encourage students to discuss with each other and pay more attention to practice. Working with their foreign partners, our students needed to break barriers of language, way of thinking and working habits so as to create works in a cooperative way.
The workshop, which aims at enhancing teaching cooperation between China and the USA in the field of drama, TV and cinematic arts and cultivating exceptional talents, has witnessed its progress since 2006. Every year, students from USC and CUC would learn how to make documentaries together for about one month and a half.
Introduction of the 8 Documentaries:
《Successors》
Director: Ruifeng Lan & Zhao Shuai
The Successors depicts the development of Chinese martial arts and Zen culture in the United States. From a Shaolin Temple in Los Angeles, we can see Americans learning Chinese Wushu. The significance of the inheritance of Wushu in a different cultural background is the highlight of the film.
《Man in Armani》
Director: Xiangyi Cai“Hermia” & Zhu Songlu
Man in Armani is innovative in its structure. The film is divided into four independent chapter, each presents a different character in a person. From the documentary we discovered the multifaceted life and the inner struggles of a young Chinese immigrant fashion designer in America.
《Prime Time》
Director:Abebe Dagmawi “Dag” & Li Yilu
Delicately made, Prime Time offers deep insights into the effects of the Internet towards our life and family relations. Thestory of three Uber drivers dependent of the Internet and causing troubles in their family lives represents many of us in general.
《Taste of trauma》
Director:Mark Vinzant & Xu Tianyuan
Taste of Trauma is unique because the protagonist of the story happens to be one of the film makers. Mark was left disabled in a car accident 12 years ago, having suffered from great pain since then, he eventually went to a Traditional Chinese doctor for help.
《SenseHerial Poetry》
Director:Hortense Lingjaerde & Liu Min
SenseHerial Poetry tells the story about how two women who lost their loved ones find consolation in poetry and hopes for life. According to the director, there was a conflict in structure between him and the professor, as a result, the film was made into two editions.
《The Technicolor Tree Tribe》
Director:Adam Kunsberg & Liu Puyu
The Technicolor Tree Tribe is a story about a joint rent house in Los Angeles. It’s not only a house, but also the Utopia where people live an idealist life in a big city. Though people come and go, the spirit of the tribe remains.
《Fallen Leaves》
Director:Li Siqi & Ilana Rozin
As it’s portrayed in the film, Fallen Leaves tells the story of two elderly Chinese women who live in the United States. It raises the serious question on how immigrants and theirdescendants look upon their own culture. Confronted with an immigration of culture, some obeyed, some remained.
《Felicitas》
Director:Emilia Yang & Dai Yujing
Felicitas focused on a Mexican immigrant in the United States. This is about how she overcame hardships from work, family and the society, fought her way up, and lived with courage for her family, and herself.
Video: He Chenzhe, Ye Jinyi
Text: Gong Qian
Composition: Wu Jingye
Editor: Cao Wanchen
