"Mosuo Song Journey" Trailer

DVD of this documentary is now available at: http://butterflybutterfly.info/mosuo_song_journey/?page_id=96 Title: Mosuo Song Journey Running Time: 37 min Director, Videography & Editor: Diedie Weng Producer: Diedie Weng, Carol Bliss Year: 2007 Synopsis: In the summer of 2004, Chinese filmmaker, Diedie Weng, followed American scholar, Carol Bliss, and Mosuo writer, Lamu Gatusa, to collect traditional Mosuo folk songs for Carol's research. From touristic Mosuo villages to remote Mosuo mountain villages, "Mosuo Song Journey" presents a personal journey resonating with the singing of different generations of Mosuo people in a transitional period of their life under the influence of tourism, pop culture and education. Surrounded by mountains, on the border between Yunnan and Sichuan Province in Southwest China, the Mosuo people live on the banks of Lugu Lake. For over a thousand years, many Mosuo people have kept a Matrilineal tradition, in which women head the household. Mosuo sisters and brothers live in the family organized by the bloodline of their mothers. Within this unique background, the Mosuo have been encouraged by the state to develop tourism since the early 1990's. As a result, Mosuo society has started opening to the world and attracting increasing worldwide attention as "A Kingdom of Goddesses" from both tourists and scholars. Screening and Distribution: * Apr. 2008 Squeaky Wheel Screening, Buffalo, NY * Apr. 2008 Asia Catalyst Screening, Columbia University, NYC. * Mar. 2008 Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology Annual Conference, Columbia University, NYC * Nov.2007 Society of Visual Anthropology/American Association of Anthropology Film Festival,Washington D.C. * Nov. 2007 Library of Congress Chinese Table Event, Washington D.C. * Nov. 2007 "World Music Program," Link TV National Network, US. * Nov.2007 4th Annual Austin Asian Film Festival. Austin, Texas. * Spt.2007 Selection for Rural China Education Foundation "Care Package" for rural teachers * Aug.2007 Urban Leadership Cohort, Claremont Graduate University, CA * Jul.2007 "Cultural Studies" Graduate Course Screening, Claremont Graduate University, CA * Jul.2007 "Intercultural Experience" Graduate Course Screening, the University of La Verne, CA * Mar. 2007 Rural China Education Foundation Retreat, NY About the Filmmaker: Diedie Weng: I was born in a village near the seaside city Zhanjiang in Guangdong Province, Southeastern China. When I was three, my parents moved to Zhanjiang. I lived there until I went to university. I majored in journalism for my undergraduate study and traveled extensively in China through doing news reporting or assisting international scholars in their research projects in China. "Mosuo Song Journey" started my first excursion into documentary production. I am particularly interested in the personal struggles that cultural groups or individuals face when they live across different cultures in a transitional period of their lives. I enjoy my own independent documentary production. But I have also worked as a videographer as well as a research and production assistant for international TV production projects among China, UK and US. At the same time, my experiences with different communities in media production have sparked my interest in community media, especially in youth media making programs. I have taught video making, art and community research classes to children in rural China and different cities in the US. I have always been intrigued by how artistic teaching and learning in a community surrounding inspired personal growth within my students and myself. Now I am pursuing my MFA study in film and video production in the Media Study Department in the State University of New York at Buffalo.