Big Sheep | Watching the stars in Dali and filming a documentary
Near the end of the year, I made a film that I was quite satisfied with. It was about a girl who was doing a niche tourism project called "Stargazing on the Lake" in Dali. She was also a cool girl who tried to change careers many times and decided to make stars her career at the age of 32 (I have been in contact with people who have changed careers recently, which has given me unlimited courage in life~)
From the time I met the topic to the end of filming, everything was very coincidental. This is the only episode in the series of 6 that was not found through online search. In today's world where information is highly developed and documentary research is highly dependent on the Internet, this kind of random encounter makes people happy.
In September this year, when I was shooting another episode about new farmers in the suburbs of Beijing, I met a bar owner. During the chat, I learned that she accidentally participated in an event when she was living in Dali in the first half of the year. The owner’s narration was, "One night I got on a broken bus in the ancient city of Dali, drove to a distant lake, and drove a small fishing boat to watch the stars on the lake." "Broken bus", "small fishing boat" and "watching the stars", every word touched me (I don’t know if anyone can understand it, haha). I contacted the organizer of the event as soon as I went back and soon got to know the protagonist A Tu.
Usually we have preliminary interviews and research before the formal shooting. At that time, Ah Tu was very impressed. She asked me what was the original intention of doing this project? I answered that I often feel the confusion and helplessness of many people around me. Everyone seems to be swept away by the torrent of the times and looks forward without knowing what they want. I hope to provide a model for the audience who sees the film through Ah Tu's story: that is, in this somewhat impetuous and huge era, there are still people who can make money by doing what they love and continue to do what they like - ideal life, for reference only. At that time, I was moved by what she did, and she was moved by what I said, and soon we began to prepare for shooting.
I myself am a person who likes stars very much and have seen some pretty good starry skies. But when I was sitting on the boat during the field research, I realized how special the experience here is and how special Ah Tu is: in a swaying boat, under the swaying starry sky, Ah Tu talked about the first star that lit up at night, the day when humans appeared in the past, and the day when there will be darkness above our heads in the future... The boat drifted between the water and the sky under the starlight, and the people on the boat said that they seemed to be lying in the air. I think I will always remember that during the shooting, the director of photography whispered in the headset: "This is like Life of Pi!"
A-Tu is sometimes very silent, but when she talks about stars, she will talk non-stop. All the astronomy, history, philosophy, legends and even metaphysics related to them... can be wonderfully put together by her like a puzzle. In her, I really see that passion can make a person shine.
During the whole research and filming process, I met a lot of great people. Dali is such a wonderful place. I think one day I will live here for a while. Thanks again to Jason, Mr. Chen from Cangshan Natural Image Museum, boatman Du Ge and his family, my good friend Rita who I met during the filming, and every partner in the filming team. We worked together to complete the creation of this episode.
