Filmmaker and Producer: Miao Wang

Running Time: 27:00

For more information visit: www.threewatersproductions.com

Awards:
• Best Short Film Award at the Asian Film Festival of Dallas

Official Selection:
• 30th Asian Cinevision International Asian American Film Festival (NYC)
• Big Sky Documentary Film Festival (Missoula, MO)
• Ethan Cohen Fine Arts Special Screening and Discussion (NYC)
• Cherry Lane Theatre Beijing China Premiere (Beijing, China)
• Boston Asian American Film Festival
• San Diego Asian American Film Festival
• Golden Lion Film Festival (Mbabane, Swaziland)
• Festival de Cinema Politic (Barcelona, Spain)
• Independents Film Festival (Tampa, Fl)
• World Language Network Film Festival International Film Festival (Arlington, MA)
• IFP Market 2006 (NYC)
• Boulder Asian Film Festival (Boulder, CO)
• Queens Museum of Arts Screening and Discussion
• Roxbury Film Festival (Boston, MA)
• Expresion en Corto (Mexico)
• San Francisco Documentary Film Festival (San Francisco, CA)
• Tribeca Underground Film Festival (NYC)

China is a country where dissenting voices have been systematically purged and propaganda efficiently woven into every aspect of life. During the 10 years of the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, art served as a political tool under Mao’s direct orders. This inescapably politically and culturally turbulent atmosphere stipulated a movement of contemporary Chinese artists to New York City. A second influx escalated with the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.

YELLOW OX MOUNTAIN reflects on the artistic inspirations and personal journeys of two such contemporary Chinese artists of the older generation, Zhang Hongtu (b. 1943) and Zhang Jian-Jun (b. 1955). Their lives and work span from the post-Cultural Revolution political environment of China to today’s thriving Chinese contemporary art community of New York. Through engaging in work that deals with the psyche of their historical context, they have cast away Mao’s shadows. Their works are enriched by not only a deeply rooted tradition but also a profound awareness of the cycles of history and the importance of the dissenting voice in society.

Born in Beijing, China just after the Cultural Revolution, Miao Wang grew up with the last remnants of premodernized Communist China. She immigrated with her parents to the United States in 1990.

After earning a B.A. in economics from the University of Chicago in 1999, Miao moved to New York City, where she began to explore her passions in photography, design, and film. Her multidisciplinary pursuits have led her to organize large-scale art happenings; publish an art book, OVERKILL, with Booth-Clibborn Editions (London);nd work on award-winning designs with acclaimed graphic designer and art director Stefan Sagmeister. She earned a M.F.A. in design and film from the Parsons School of Design in 2005, where she began working on her first documentary film, YELLOW OX MOUNTAIN. The film has screened at more than 15 film festivals worldwide, and received a Best Short Film Award at the Asian Film Festival of Dallas. It is currently distributed by Filmaker's Library.

Miao has edited for programs that aired on National Geographic TV and video projects for the renowned architect Steven Holl. She worked as an assistant at Maysles Films, the studio of the legendary direct-cinema documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles. She works as a freelance designer for Harry N. Abrams, an illustrated book publisher. She is currently in production of BEIJING TAXI, her first feature-length documentary. BEIJING TAXI captures poetic and intimate stories of three taxi drivers over two years in Beijing as they reveal the sociopolitical issues in a hastily changing society preparing for the Olympic Games of 2008.

What inspired you to make this piece?

A combination of factors inspired me to make this piece; they spring from my personal experiences growing up in Beijing and as an immigrant engaging in a creative life in New York City. I grew up in Communist China with the notion that art should serve politics and the masses. The creative life is considered impractical and is widely shunned. I was very inspired by the stories of Zhang Hongtu and Zhang Jian-Jun, the two artists in my film. I admired them not only for the impressive body of artwork they create but also for the journey they have traveled as a very small group of older generation Chinese artists who persisted in doing work they believed in through the political turmoil of modern Chinese history, and the transformations they undergo eventually as immigrant artists living in New York City.

Briefly tell us how you made your film or video: what camera and format did you use to shoot your piece, and what system did you use to edit it? What is your working process? Did you use any special techniques to make this work?

With the exception of two early shoots with the Canon XL1, YELLOW OX MOUNTAIN was shot by DP Ian Vollmer on the Panasonic DVX100A 30p in letterbox format over a period of a few months, working around the schedule of the two busy artists. I edited the piece using Final Cut Pro on my Mac G4 tower at home. The editing process took a few months, as I had a Post-it wall of storyline structure that changed over and over again. I worked with a transcript of the dialogue until I nailed the structure, then I chose from a selection of roughly edited footage, archival images, and the original score to edit the piece together. The still archival images were incorporated as motion graphics using AfterEffects to illustrate the historical context.

Do you have any interesting behind-the-scenes stories about the making of this particular work?

I started this project with a very broad concept of wanting to make a film that would relate too many of the overwhelming number of things that concerned me personally. This ranged from what it was like to live through the Cultural Revolution to what it was like to be an immigrant and adjust to a new culture, and what it means to be an American. It was all too vague and nothing tangible. I had no characters for a story. One day it dawned on me in the midst of my frustration that the contemporary Chinese art community of New York is a perfect place for me to seek out the characters that could relate all my concerns. It was also a great opportunity for me to connect with some of the artists whose work I was very inspired by. I initially sought to feature more than two artists, but immediately after I had my first interviews with Zhang Hongtu and Zhang Jian-Jun individually, I was so captivated by their different stories I decided that it would be more effective to just focus on the two of them. Their stories create a more in-depth and interesting comparison and juxtaposition.

What is the relationship between your work as a video/filmmaker and life in the New York metropolitan area?

I grew up with the notion that science and more practical subjects (that is, definitely not art) is what can take you places in life. There was a psychological block in me that told me I couldn't possibly do something creative as a choice of life path. I slowly unraveled that, taking baby steps and following my heart toward the things that inspired me. Moving to New York City in 1999 was a catalyst and a leap. Surrounded by a constant source of creative inspiration and by the will and experiences of all the creative people that came to this city to pursue their hearts' desires and to realize their self-expression, I was and am continually encouraged and engaged. It is a city of continuous dialogue and stimulation. It is the city that I feel most comfortable in, among all the citizens of the world, so many of whom are immigrants living in between cultures like myself. It is a city concentrated with like-minded makers and creators with whom I deeply value my connections and flow of ideas.

What films/videos and makers have inspired you or influenced your work? And why?

Among a few of the makers that have inspired me are Wong Kar-Wai, Chris Marker, Jean Cocteau, and the Maysles brothers. I want to make poetic and cinematic documentaries that build human connections and reflect on the universalities of human conditions. Wong Kar-Wai's lyrical use of mood, light, and texture is a stylistic inspiration for my work. Chris Marker tells a story through a very unique poetic essay style that challenges the conventions of forms. Jean Cocteau speaks truth through mythical cinematic poetry and symbolism. The Maysles brothers capture real people with an uncanny sensibility showing what's underneath the surface, what makes people tick.

If viewers are interested in obtaining copies of your work for rental or purchase, whom should they contact and at what address and phone number?

They should contact the Filmaker's Library for rental or purchase of YELLOW OX MOUNTAIN.
Their contact is:
124 East 40th Street, NY, NY 10016
Phone 212-808-4980, fax 212-808-4983
e-mail: info@filmakers.com