“Yang views justice as equality for all, human and nonhuman, a cause to which she has dedicated her life.”
Director and Cinematographer
Originally from Hunan, China, MIJIE LI has worked with BBC-2, Discovery Channels, and award-winning filmmakers, such as Jessica Yu, Mila Aung-Thwin, and Julia Reichert. She co-produced Julia Reichert’s AMERICAN FACTORY, which sold to Netflix and won the 2020 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Her debut feature CONFUCIAN DREAM premiered at Hot Docs in 2019 and was selected by numerous top-tiered film festivals around the world.
Filming began in 2014, when Mijie was invited to Yang’s shelter located on the outskirts of Tianjin. This unique access lays the foundation for a complex character study - a fearless activist to some and a woman driven to isolation to others.
Writer, Producer, Editor
Born in Shanghai, China, J. FAYE YUAN is a Brooklyn-based bilingual writer, producer, and editor. Her artistic practice centers around activism and decolonization, creating thought-provoking content that demystifies the other while inspiring community action. In 2019, she directed her first hybrid documentary. The project, currently in post-production, is a recipient of the 2021 New York State Council on the Arts Film & Media Award.
Writer, Producer, Editor
MARIO DUCOUDRAY has had an active behind-the-scenes presence in New York City’s independent film community since the 1990’s. His most rewarding experiences come from his support for independent voices, such as Jenny Livingston in the Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning PARIS IS BURNING, Rodrigo Bellott on the Locarno Critics-winning SEXUAL DEPENDENCY, and Mijie Li’s Karlovy Vary-winning CONFUCIAN DREAM.
Composer
ADAM BALAZS is a renowned composer based in LA and Hungary who has scored two Oscar-nominated films.
Associate Producer
ERIS QIAN is a multi-disciplinary filmmaker, formerly a video producer at the Smithsonian.
Associate Producer
PAULINE TRAN is a Brooklyn-based producer with a specialty in public health and social impact.
“While Covid-19 demands immediate action, there also needs to be a long-term vision; one that enables us to fundamentally transform our relationship with the natural world to reduce the risk of future pandemics. Human health is intimately interconnected with the health of our planet and how we manage the life-sustaining resources that biodiversity and ecosystems provide.”
