The Cut

At the time I was in Beijing during the winter break, I joined a workshop held by Wenguang Wu, who is the first independent documentary filmmaker in China. He was working on a folk Memory project, calling on young filmmakers to return to their hometowns or the places where their parents were born and raised to interview the older generations of their families and to document their memories of the past. He introduced us the subjective film and essay film, encouraging us to make films about ourselves with the purpose of discovering our roots, even reconciling and curing ourselves.
Therefore, I spent half a month live with my grandma at her home. And I was surprised that not only did I learn a lot of her memories that I hadn’t known, but also gained unprecedented internal energy from this special experience. Most importantly, I start reconsidering the relationship between my hometown/family and me. Is it really something I can escape from?

When I returned to London again after the roots-seeking journey in Beijing, I've gradually realized how strong my bond with my native culture was, In contrast, how weak my connection with the surrounding environment - I feel like I am an outsider in this foreign land.