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Table Wisdom of Chinese Migrants 远方的餐桌

"Table Wisdom of Chinese Migrants" is a cross-cultural food exploration documentary series. By retracing the migration route of Southeast Asia, the documentary hopes to explore the relationship between Chinese food and migrants’ cultural identity.

《远方的餐桌》是一部跨文化美食探索纪录片剧集，通过重走移民南洋迁徙路，探寻食物与华人文化认同的关系。

  • Manman Yang
    Director
  • Manman Yang
    Writer
  • Manman Yang
    Producer
  • Manman Yang
    Director of Phtography
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature, Short
  • Runtime:
    30 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    October 30, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    20,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    China
  • Country of Filming:
    China
  • Language:
    Mandarin Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Manman Yang

Manman Yang, documentary filmmaker and curator, born in southwestern China and of Dong minority heritage, earned her MA in drama studies from the Beijing Film Academy in 2015.
Currently based in Manchester, she is the Chevening Scholar of 2024, awarded by the British Council to study visual anthropology in the Granada Center, University of Manchester. Her work often explores themes related to migrant workers, marginalised groups, cultural identity, and material heritage. In 2019, she founded “Believing is Seeing Studio” in Guangzhou, focusing on documentary production and exhibition curation. Since then, her collaborations have spanned various organisations, including the British Embassy, the British Science Museum, and NHK Japan. Her works have been officially selected and screened twice in one of the world’s most influential and longest-running visual anthropology film festivals, SVAFMF, and widely screened on TV and new media platforms.

Profile Webpage:
https://filmfreeway.com/YangManman

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

No matter how long we have been away from our hometown, we can still trace back the memories of food through our taste buds. Each place has its streams in from all over the country.
By re-traveling the route of Chinese immigrants to the Southeast Asia, we explore the relationship in between food and Chinese cultural identity. To tell stories about people’s persistence and cultural integration behind the taste and food.
Starting from Chaoshan of Guangdong province, we will explore the Chinese tables in Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Cambodia, to present people's emotions towards food, their topophilia in beneath the food culture.

“日久家乡即故乡”，但不论离开多久，依然可以从味蕾回溯食光记忆。一方水土养一方人，通过重走移民南洋迁徙路，探寻食物与华人文化认同的关系。在远方的餐桌，倾听味道背后，关于人的坚持和文化融合的故事。在味道中找到“我们”。
从潮汕小镇“饶平”出发，在泰国、新加坡、印度尼西亚、越南、柬埔寨的华人餐桌上，呈现人对食物的情感，发掘饮食文化中的恋地情结，讲述文化融合视角下的中国故事。