In the next few months you will see an important transformation to this project. Guess why is this provocative question asked? How is it related to the concept of this project? How much does spilled water worth? Stay tune.
Last September, we made our final trip to China to finish shooting for “Rise of the Phoenix.” Since November 2012, we’ve been hunkering down to organize and edit all the footage acquired since 2010 — about 56 to 57 hours worth. The translation and transcription alone took two months. We’re…
Dear friends and supporters, Now that you have seen glimpses of the stories on “Rise of the Phoenix” I can dare say this project has turned a corner! The footage and elements are “in the can” so to speak, and I’m looking forward to move this project to the next…
Women comprise 45% of the labor force that propelled China to be the second largest economy in the world. Many left their families behind in small towns and villages to work in factories in order to send money home to improve their families’ lives. They join waves of migrant workers…
To reach Ou Huaqing’s story, one must travel 3 hours by plane from Beijing to Guiyang in the south west province of Guizhou, then 3 hours on the expressway east and another 4 hours on mountain trails to the Village of Koujiang which literally means “at the river’s mouth.” To…
Being bi-cultural, I thought I’d enjoy a good working relationship with the Chinese nationals and achieve the buttoned -down efficiency of western work standard. Little did I know of the hurdles in navigating these six favorite little Chinese words — “Méi guanxi” 没关系 and “Méi bànfǎ” 没办法. “Méi guanxi” 没关系…
Been in Beijing for almost a week now. The first two days were tough and I found myself so jet lagged that I had to put my head down on the table in a restaurant for 10 minutes to nap. Then I was refreshed. Production has started in earnest as we scheduled…
It’s my third day in Beijing now. The air is thick like pea soup with high humidity and pollution. This time around I’m staying around the Second Ring Road at the fringe of the Hutong area — still a facsimile of Old Beijing. The Hutong is a “historically protected” neighborhood…
Brimming with anticipation, I’m counting the days to my next phase of production in China — from 8/28 to 9/22. It took me almost two years to get the funds needed to return. Thanks to the re-granting of the Long Family Foundation, kind Kickstarters supporters and generous friends and family…
It’s been more that 3 months since my Kickstarter campaign. This update is long overdue and am delighted to give you a report on what’s happening on this end. Although my Kickstarter campaign exceeded our expectation, the funds only cover a portion of the expenses to return to China for…
It’s been a while since I last posted on my blog. It’s good to come back and have something to say about being a woman. Throughout history and literature, mothers are highly honored, written and celebrated for good reasons. They are only human, yet society puts such high expectations on…
2012 began with a BANG! After a full year of “exercising in futility” in grant application to many foundations in 2011, I’ve decided to seek financial support through a different channel. I launched my Kickstarter campaign on the first day of the Year of the Dragon. Many filmmakers have crowd-funded…
