00:00:00: Welcome back to Vision de Real.

00:00:02: Here I am with the next interview and this time it's a wonderful film that i could already see at CPH Docs.

00:00:10: It is called Whispers in May, its a debut film by Dong Nang Chan And she is here with me now.

00:00:15: Hi Dong Nan!

00:00:16: Hi and thank you for having me.

00:00:17: Your film had huge success in Copenhagen and won the main prize This being your featured debut documentary.

00:00:26: That's a huge thing.

00:00:27: Did The Whole Festival Journey kickoff.

00:00:30: I certainly didn't expect it, in a way i think we have been told a lot of times that its quote small film during production like taken in the mountains can resonate on a global stage.

00:00:47: It's a delicate story about a group of young girls, In The Mountains Of Rural China.

00:00:53: they're going on a trip that is half between reality and half fantasy.

00:00:58: it's not fully a documentary its' Like A Hybrid Documentary or How Do You Prefer

00:01:03: To Describe It?

00:01:04: So...the film concept isn't very simple.

00:01:06: Its', a Film That Is Born Out Of The Girls Own Wishes.

00:01:10: because I met Tsinghua I felt it's not very meaningful to make a documentary-documentary, but instead I want these girls to collaborate and make a film.

00:01:42: that they want to have before a doubt world sets in.

00:01:46: The road trip is their wish, and that's how the big concept is set.

00:01:50: We're gonna make a film according to their wishes To escape from home And explore bigger worlds.

00:01:57: I actually don't know how too...I'm still trying find out what type of films it has because i am not a big fan of hybrid.

00:02:06: but we just don't have a word invented for films like this.

00:02:11: It's either fiction or non-fiction, but in a way film is simply a film.

00:02:16: Those words, those categorization between fiction and non-fiction lose its meaning.

00:02:22: while I match these girls.

00:02:24: Those categorizations doesn't make sense to them.

00:02:26: so when we're doing it they simply think like there are the stars and co-collaborators of the films that were going to be made.

00:02:33: So no academic concepts during making this film.

00:02:38: How

00:02:38: did you meet your girl?

00:02:41: the story.

00:02:41: I was commissioned to make short films about women across different generations in the Liangxia Mountains, that's why i was there and during research time for this project ,I came across writing assignments by children of their Mandarin class .

00:03:00: I read her writing first so she wrote a made many wishes but none have ever come true.

00:03:06: her in-person and got to know her situation.

00:03:09: So it's really something that wasn't planned, but a project born out of impulse.

00:03:15: The

00:03:15: background these girls their life circumstances.

00:03:18: those are based on reality.

00:03:20: But the trip they take is more fictional or improvised?

00:03:24: Yes

00:03:25: so exist real people and real situations meaning everything...the girls being themselves in film.

00:03:33: And there family situations social situations are all real.

00:03:37: I call that as the soil of this film, but The Road Trip is a flower-like way girl.

00:03:43: out on top there's oil and

00:03:44: they also have a number of encounters under it.

00:03:47: They need old people who tell them about those stories in their area.

00:03:51: Is these actual mythology of the area?

00:03:54: And other people actually living there?

00:03:56: Yeah!

00:03:56: There were people who lived here.

00:03:58: Actually people would be on that road For the mythology in our films.

00:04:03: It was because The girls, they always tell each other stories at nights.

00:04:08: I heard the story is so one that they told most often At first we have this as a very tasting film like telling each others' stories but later on i just felt there are much more resonance between their own story and what's being told in that folklore.

00:04:25: So it decided to give them some important place.

00:04:29: The story is something they heard from their grandparents.

00:04:32: It's completely oral like people passed on, From generations to generations.

00:04:37: it doesn't really have a written form When everybody retold that They also create their own versions.

00:04:42: We also created our own version for this film.

00:04:45: What does the rural background mean?

00:04:47: To you personally there always seems to be A big contrast in China between these hyper modern cities where everything goes ultra fast And then the rural areas with.

00:04:57: I

00:04:59: think the living situations in cities and rural areas can be very different.

00:05:05: In a way, people are moving across those different situation all of time.

00:05:10: The girls live here now but lots have moved to work in factories.

00:05:17: For me, I was born in a rural village and later on i went to the cities.

00:05:22: So people really it's categorization between places but not really life experiences like people experience this shifting landscape of the rural areas and cities all the time.

00:05:34: So

00:05:34: would you say that parts of these stories are maybe also your own story, since also you grew up in a village area then moved to the city?

00:05:43: I think there's lots of echoed in those stories.

00:05:46: we have fears for growing into... When we are growing up, We always feel the two restrictions on our lives.

00:05:55: One is from your own community and one is a bigger world.

00:06:00: Like for girls they would be easily defined as their wife in the Liangshan Community But when it goes out They will be labeled as a migrant laborer by the bigger world.

00:06:10: And I think that can happen.

00:06:11: happen to me or any other people, I think most of the people in our lives.

00:06:15: we struggle with this double restrictions from your small community and a larger community.

00:06:21: And during our growing up process We all have this fear like we would turn out to repeat the fate of our parents.

00:06:29: How

00:06:29: much of a story was scripted and how much did you and girls invent while you went along?

00:06:36: Or, at some point maybe make notes or write things down.

00:06:40: that girl told you

00:06:42: First of all We decided on the nun concept as well want do this road trip with sit-down together And then we write an outline together like what happened in film.

00:06:54: they share ideas, I also share my idea.

00:06:57: So we read down these little notes which is an outline but not really a script.

00:07:02: during production We also watch clips together like where would discuss what happened today?

00:07:09: What do you want to next?

00:07:11: so it's very fluid and spontaneous process Really just half spontaneous, half scripted.

00:07:24: I couldn't really say which thing is exactly scripted or what happened naturally because it's very blurry.

00:07:33: like once the girls feel they are playing their role of themselves They can be performant too Which actually out of control of director?

00:07:42: What

00:07:42: were challenges in that rural area when shooting?

00:07:45: Did you have a big crew Or was more intimate?

00:07:47: We

00:07:47: had seven people crew Producer, we have a DP.

00:07:52: We have camera assistant and some person I would say mini-professional crew.

00:07:57: It's very rough landscape And we have to ensure the safety for everybody in everything.

00:08:03: In my way it is also girls.

00:08:05: their passion For doing film not only do road trip.

00:08:09: They are passionate about making films together with us.

00:08:14: To really make professional crew makes them feel more excited About whole process And they also direct our DP all the time, like telling him to walk faster.

00:08:24: Like telling them what should shoot?

00:08:27: The challenge is a place where you have to coordinate a lot in terms of traffic and safety.

00:08:33: So that's why we stayed there for one month before we started shooting To really ensure everything is arranged.

00:08:42: We had planned B when something happens on the mountains.

00:08:45: What impact did economical situation has on your script and the story.

00:08:51: You already mentioned that kids at a very early age might become factory workers to support their family, which is also the fate of the main character?

00:09:00: Is there any common in this area?

00:09:03: do you see work as social critique or systemic critique?

00:09:07: For the Nossel community they are really one of most artistic and partially abundant ethnic minority groups in China.

00:09:16: They have their own belief system and they have great poetry, and great paintings.

00:09:23: Which in a way because of this great culture it made it harder for Liang Shan to be merged with the more modern part of China.

00:09:34: In that way is good thing but another way.

00:09:37: This very strong sense of community has its own traditional values and own traditional customs, which is harder to go with the fast changes in society.

00:09:49: The big labour migrations first took place during the nineties I think arrived at a peak early.

00:09:55: two thousand, two thousand eight, two hundred ten so most big numbers off girls parents.

00:10:02: they would move into cities for working factories.

00:10:05: There are only like mostly younger people or older people left in that area.

00:10:09: They found it hard to adapt the big city life, which resulted in large amount of men becoming alcoholic and involved with drug issues.

00:10:19: they're basically getting into more debt or troubles.

00:10:22: So In Liangshan The school system is a man-care ticker for girls teachers And they basically live from Monday until Friday Only go home on weekends is really doing a lot to persuade parents, let their kids stay in schools.

00:10:39: But it's very hard because... It doesn't speak to the parent mentality sometimes?

00:10:44: Because family has lots of financial struggles There isn't much belief that education would necessarily lead into better future Even for girls.

00:10:55: I think they chose working in factories so early.

00:10:58: They want to earn money and support families and parents.

00:11:02: How

00:11:02: was the process?

00:11:04: The

00:11:05: students were very passionate about when they first met us, I remember the first time we went to school.

00:11:12: I think hundreds of students just warmed up and made it really hard for me to walk in a playground but i didn't talk too much.

00:11:21: a lot of students about that.

00:11:24: For Qin Huan and Meng Guorou, I think it's really love at first sight.

00:11:28: I think somehow this is the thing happened to me every time when make-a-film...I know the chemistry one first met that person!

00:11:36: I don't see like story arc or topic as important.

00:11:40: why decide to make a film.

00:11:41: It' s really about whether you can say something in that person.

00:11:45: maybe its fragility Maybe its sincerity Or charm made me believe i could start this collaboration because it's a really intimate process for two persons to fill that, to start film.

00:11:58: All the students are very passionate about seeing us and talking to us but next day I heard there is rumors spread out in school like where human traffickers trying take kids away!

00:12:10: And two student were so afraid they didn't even fell asleep at night.

00:12:15: But you know while Tsinghua told me this she just jumped right into our car.

00:12:20: She just want to go with us.

00:12:22: Like, she's not terrified at all and she kept on calling us all the time like did you have breakfast?

00:12:29: Did you have lunch or dinner?

00:12:31: I think it is really something... some curiosity in her.

00:12:34: She wants also know more about us And how we work In a way that being tacked along while doing short film already following us everywhere.

00:12:46: How hard does financially realize project life?

00:12:50: It takes time and a lot of patience to pitch the film first in Asia, in lots of forums.

00:12:57: And then in Europe too.

00:12:59: I think eventually we are able get the filmmaker without big budget but were able do it But its very long process.

00:13:09: talk people about that project.

00:13:11: Let them really understand and know about this.

00:13:14: Do you see yourself

00:13:15: more as documentary director or would like go into fiction?

00:13:19: I'm not very fond of the categorization Of those two things.

00:13:48: intimate, but also complicated relationship between the observer and observed.

00:13:53: Something that's only from my experience of filming real people for the past

00:13:57: decade."

00:13:58: And we will

00:13:58: definitely keep an eye on it!

00:14:00: Whispers in May is now at Vision du Réa.

00:14:03: As soon as you get a local cinematic release... You read about it with Movie Break and I say thank-you Don't mind channel for this interview.

00:14:09: Thank you so much.