Synopsis
HUANG Yanhong, a 54-year-old Chinese rural woman, has endured a miserable marriage for 20 years. This winter, she finally escapes her husband and moves to the big city of Zhengzhou. Here, she longs to realize a dream buried in her heart for years: to publish the books she has been compiling. Though these books may seem like a collection of outdated quotes to others, they are a spiritual treasure to HUANG, akin to the gold dust collected by Shami, the cleaner in her favorite Soviet novel PRECIOUS DUST. Inspired by these words, she strives to regain her freedom and happiness in the city.
JIA YUXIANG
JIA Yuxiang is a documentary director with a master's degree in desgin from Tongji University. His independent documentary GOATEE has won multiple awards, including Best Documentary Feature at the 2020 International University Student Documentary Competition. His project PRECIOUS DUST was selected for the 14th CNEX Chinese Doc Forum and GZDOC Pitching Forum.
Director's statement
Over the past three years, we documented HUANG’s journey to realize her dream. At 53, she lived in a four-square-meter basement, saving money by picking up rotten apples and sweeping streets to buy books and publishing equipment. We captured her learning computer typing, facing rejections from publishers, and conflicts with her family in the village. HUANG, bound by traditional expectations, represents many married rural Chinese women disconnected from modern society. Her disorientation in urban life reflects their common plight. Throughout these three years, I was likely her only audience and companion. This dream-chasing story interweaves with the “famous quotes” HUANG compiled and the novel PRECIOUS DUST. The metaphors in words and images are key artistic forms we aim to explore.
