Lei WuFollow

Abstract

This thesis primarily focuses on the shooting of a documentary about Lun Qiu, a shy and ordinary ethnic Tibetan boy from China. His family is poor, and he is a boxer who was injured when he was defeated in a competition. These events did not cause him to lose confidence because his experience has been very helpful for him. He dreams of participating in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and earning his own gold belt.

The original idea for my thesis had nothing to do with its final conception. In fact, the original idea was not even to make a documentary, but to produce a work of fiction. I finally chose to shoot a documentary for two reasons. Firstly, while studying at Rochester, I have already shot many dramas and served in a variety of roles in several film crews. Therefore, this time, I wanted to try to get out of my comfort zone and shoot about a topic in which I am really interested. Secondly, this is because during my first year in graduate school, I went to the Chinese city of Chengdu (the capital of Sichuan Province) to go sightseeing with my friend. While I was there, I heard some unbelievable stories.

Chengdu is a very unique city. Due to its geography, Chengdu is very close to Tibet, so many Tibetans live in Chengdu. Tibetans are one of the most ancient ethnicities in China and South Asia. Their personalities are different from those of most Chinese people. Furthermore, due to several complex political reasons, most of the cities where they live are able to have a high level of self-management powers, and also have a National People’s Congress and People’s Government. Furthermore, when ethnic minorities live in an unfamiliar city, they demonstrate an extremely strong sense of unity. Chengdu has China’s largest training base for fighting sports.

It has adopted many small children who are from poor families, and some of them are orphans. Besides receiving an education, these children often participate in different kinds of fighting competitions. The money earned from these competitions helps them support their living costs, and can also help them support their families. This special place made me very curious, and I was extremely eager to understand these special children. This documentary’s protagonist - Qiu Lun - provided us with detailed information about his lifestyle. We will use this documentary to understand the life of this distinctive group of children.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Documentary films--Production and direction; Mixed martial arts--China--Chengdu; Tibetans--China--Chengdu

Publication Date

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Film and Animation (MFA)

Department, Program, or Center

School of Film and Animation (CAD)

Advisor

Malcolm Spaull

Advisor/Committee Member

Karl Goldsmith

Advisor/Committee Member

Cat Ashworth

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

Plan Codes

FILMAN-MFA

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