Dankwoord 2019

By Way of Thanks
Ranald MacDonald Prize
Rotterdam, 11 October 2019

Rainie Yang, filmer and writer

I would like to share few fragments, pieces of moment, that sink, that hooks in my heart.

Let’s fade out our scene back to the day when I was sitting right next to the Yangzi river, in my hometown South-western China. The view in front of me was exactly a Chinese painting, black and white, high contrast, thick romantic fog, mother river flu by, and blood orange sunset. I was around 6,7, unwrapping a chocolate with the cover paper has the sunflower by Van Gogh, I hope I could have kept that incredible piece of wrapping paper, it was indeed a bad copy, but it was also indeed a seed, and it has grow a bit from that day on to let me just start picturing, what kind of table, what kind of room, what kind of atmosphere these flowers are growing around.

The second scene is almost 10 years later, 2008, was a big year for China. Also a big year for a 17 year old girl, who was study hard, to get into a higher education. She looked into the pouring rain at the typhoon season in the South earn coast of China, a city s called Fuzhou, translate will be the city of happiness where strongly infused by the quiet important Chinese late modern history and super economic development. that’s the where she grow up, that’s normally how she enjoy the Hurricane weather all the way from the Pacific Ocean to touch the eastern shore. The books in her hand one called A bitter trip in Culture, the other one called the Doer has No Boundaries. Both by a Chinese author, who shared those innocent experiences that as a culture lover carrying the Chinese perspective, those usual unusual jumping words and sentences brought my mind all the way to the west. Something about the Classic, Something about the Modern, Something about individual kind of concept, Something about freedom. The winds somehow gentle flipped her pages, and the winds somehow so strong, to pull her soul and her thoughts out of her body, riding the wave of openness in China from that year, trying to catch the far air. Lucky enough, I was that girl.

The next moment I want you to flashback with me, is two years later. I was sitting in the national standard cinema of Beijing Film Academy, where we have all the copies of the “forbidden” films in a bit earlier time, highly percent from Europe. the French new wave, the Italian Neo-realism…that was my classroom, and my professional dreaming place. I dreamed about the Midnight in Paris, I dreamed about the Wings of Desires in Berlin, I dreamed about the Mission of Amsterdam, and I dreamed about the Holidays in Rome…

Those bees in my bonnet , those wild thoughts in my mind, those artistic trailers in my imaginations, somehow have had leading me all the way here, to this western Western country that I have lived for 6 years. For the years I have lived here, I been constantly amazed by this glorious diversities. No matter the freshly arrived or came to the other centuries in chains, We’ve taken so many different path to this moment, and no matter where the journey started, we have all made it here today through the same combination of unyielding determination, sacrifice, and whole lotta work. But we never stop giving the bold, brave, activist voice.

And now standing in the Fenix, I feel connected, to those first group of Chinese landed here to explore life, to build up their community, to share their very historical taste, to spread their Eastern wisdom , and to create something fusion. I feel very much the fruit of their vision, Their legacy is very much my legacy and your inheritance.

We are all immigrants. This is not only an art work saying, to me, it is personal. Because what I can sense, is We are all be willing to take risks, we are all fearless, we are all interest in dialogue with the world, and we are all looking forward to dig out the most cherished values of human being, that is be appreciate each other’s strengths, in a world that destined to be united.

And just like this MAD innovation going to happen in Fenix, I am so looking forward as a new generation Chinese, to see this intensively refreshing touch. Because this is also what I exactly feel nowadays , As a generation of awakening, generation of impacting. Our exploration of the world is no longer simply for a better life(i mean, we have quite good life out there), We continue to open up our own borders, to play, to pursue our unique vision of the future, and to adding our true spice to a real international fusion. With the beautiful 5000 years of culture what we have carrying, our mission is always how to do a better translate.

Standing in this very building, thanks to the incredible Dream and Do fundation, it look like going to be a museum 🙂
I feel its quite ultimate art that we celebrate here today and about to collect together.
Its not by contemporary, nor by any region of golden ages.
It is for now, for tomorrow, and forever.