Tales From the Confluence of Three Rivers
At the headwaters of the Three Rivers (Yalu, Songhua, and Tumen) in the Changbai Mountains lives a Korean ethnic shaman-healer. Having practiced in these forests for 17 years, she gathers herbs to heal the world, building an inseparable intimacy with the mountain’s flora and fauna. In the film, seated on a *kang* (heated stone bed), she recounts her spiritual journey and numerous multi-species encounters to the camera. Her vivid storytelling blends a singular mysticism with the mundane warmth of rural Northeast China. This lived, everyday texture serves as the fundamental soil for cross-species coexistence in folk culture.
Mushrooms
The forests of Northeast Asia are permeated by a flickering, scattered light—the very soul of the forest ecosystem. Beneath the canopy, various species exchange vital information and energy within this interplay of light and shadow. Using a macro lens, Liu Yujia chases this forest light and the ecology surrounding the mushrooms. These low-lying ecosystems are magnified into an alternative jungle, vividly revealing the symbiotic dance between mushrooms, moss, insects, and soil.
Skunked
A night-vision video work that combines multi-movement music and poetry. It reflects on urban wandering, nocturnal creatures, spiritual displacement, and the necessities of survival. Through internal monologues and fragmented identities, the piece explores non-artificial intelligence, the cosmic environment, illusions of hope, the transformation of madness, and the ever-present threat of fatal danger.
