The Concubine's Destiny

This film takes Fang Quanfu, a Hui Opera performer from Anhui Province, as its subject and shows his cozy daily life with his family and the whole process of Hui Opera performance in a life-like and artistic perspective. It also shows the intergenerational transmission of Hui Opera, with his daughter, Fang Xin, and Hui Opera apprentices presenting a unique outlook on the development of Hui Opera.

  • Ipek Ertan
    Director
  • Ipek Ertan
    Writer
  • Li Ya
    Producer
  • Fang Quanfu
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes 27 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 10, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Filming:
    China
  • Language:
    Mandarin Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Ipek Ertan

Ipek Ertan is a female Turkish Canadian director, producer, and assistant director based in Toronto, Ontario. Ipek has worked as an assistant director on countless TV shows including but not limited to Star Trek Discovery, What We Do In The Shadows, and Umbrella Academy while she directed and produced independent projects. Ipek also co-produced the short film Braided Together in 2022 that got featured in ImagineNATIVE Film Festival, Vox Popular Media Arts Festival, and Cinéfest Sudbury and acquired by CBC Gem. Her short documentary The Concubine’s Destiny (2024) was featured in New York Tri-State Film Festival, Vancouver Chinese Film Festival, won the Best Short Documentary Award at East Village New York Film Festival and it’s currently continuing its festival run. Ipek’s latest narrative short film Memory of Water is currently gearing up for its festival run. Ipek is eager to tell stories that are authentic and culturally diverse. She is continuing to build her body of work as a director.

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Director Statement

Directing The Concubine's Destiny was a great experience for me. I took the courage to abandon my previous ideas and style of filming this documentary once I arrived in China. I decided to make this a lot more of a personal story to Fang family instead of focusing only on the trajectory and future of the Hui Opera. Because once I met Fang Quanfu and saw how genuine he was, I decided to tell the story of Hui Opera through his eyes and how he passed it down to his daughter to keep this rare art alive.

This film would have not been possible without my producer Li Ya. This project was the result of a meaningful cultural exchange between myself, a Canadian director, and Li Ya, an accomplished Chinese producer and Master's student in media production. Li Ya played a vital role in every stage of the process—not only as producer, but also as translator, bridging linguistic and cultural gaps with both the documentary subjects and the crew. She contributed significantly to the preparation of subtitles, ensuring that the emotional and cultural subtleties of the film could be appreciated by an international audience.

Li Ya’s dedication to this project went far beyond logistics—she deeply cared about preserving this disappearing art form and was passionate about sharing the story of Hui Opera with a wider audience. Her work on this film was driven by a heartfelt commitment to cultural preservation and heritage storytelling. She also made me feel incredibly welcome in China, helping to create an environment of mutual trust, learning, and collaboration.