Films about Mosuo by A Mosuo Filmmaker
In mid December, I attended a screening series of Yunnan Villager Film Project on the theme of bio-diversities. The film series was opened by Mosuo filmmaker Erqin’s second documentary” Grandma’s Home Away From Home” which tells a controversial story on the preservation of a Mosuo traditional house.
In Mosuo traditional culture, the most powerful women in the household live in the living where the fireplace is. The fireplace is the center part of the house for daily life and ceremonies. Mosuo people usually call the room Yimi(the grandma’s room). An American artist was interested in purchasing the grandma’s room (the living room) from Mosuo youngman Erche’s family and wanted to bring the house to her project site in Beijing to represent Mosuo culture. Despite the grandma’s disagreement, Erche agreed to sell the room to the artist. The filmmaker Erqing followed Erche’s process of taking apart the grandma’s room, sent it to Beijing and have the room set up in a Beijing art space.
The ending of the film was controversial by showing people were celebrating for the new room built for grandma. Some of the audience felt that the ending confused the message: what did the filmmaker wants tell? Is it good to take apart your traditional house and sell it for a newer house? Erqing said he would consider this feedback for another cut of this film.
The Other Film by the filmmaker Erqing: “What shall we do? Change in Luoshui Village”
It is a collection of interviews on change in Luoshui. The once relatively isolated and impoverished village has undergone tremendous changes in living conditions, ideas and lifestyles. Among these changes, some are positive; others are negative and worthy of concern. The Mosuo people of Luoshui are reflecting upon and discussing these issues, and this film functions as a fire around which the villagers get together and talk openly about the problems they face as a community. The film includes five aspects of their discussions: tourism, morals and virtues, consumerism, marriage and family and traditional language. The film reflects the sincere thoughts of the villagers, opening a window for the outside world to get to know the Luoshui Mosuo better.
More info about Yunnan Villager Film Project:
Village Biodiversity Films is a project sponsored by Baima Mountain Culture Research Institute, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, together with Shan Shui Conservation Center and The Snowland Great Rivers Environmental Protection Association of Qinghai, Gastodchobo Sacred Mountain Environmental Protection Association, Nyanpo Yuzee Environmental Protection Association. Which lasted from September 2009 to December the same year. Funded by EU-China Biodiversity Programme, 10 community participators from Qinghai Province and Yunnan Province filmed natural and cultural diversities of their homeland. They are representatives from Tibetans, Lisu, Miao(Hmong) and Mosuo community. 8 films were completed, through which people from outside could share with local people their ideas and practices concerning eco-environment knowledge and folk cultures. The project team had also recorded the implementation process, and made it into a short subject, providing a model case for village film study.