“that's the purpose of art ... filmmaking, music, or literature ... the point of it is that we do look for those hidden meanings. Everybody looks for the subtext in something, or as creative people we look for the subtext in something. As human beings we are always searching for that kind of deeper meaning underneath the superficial layer. I think it's very easy to provide images, no matter how mundane and banal, and somehow one is able to find an interpretation of that. In this film, if you take out my story and follow the story of [Yu Shui, as she] change[s] on the cruise ship, it is a very linear story, but it's the role of the artist, or the role of the audience to discover those deeper meanings. That's the power of cinema; you don't always have to explain everything. It's not journalism."

“I think filmmaking is very much a self-learning process. It’s about being open to everything and not just watching movies. Reading, traveling, walking...”

“Of course, the beauty of documentary is that you’re literally improvising and being spontaneous. You let the environment, your subjects, and the given moment carry you along. There’s no storyboarding. When you’re making a documentary, you shoot a lot of footage in hopes of capturing a few emotional moments. When you have those moments your story takes shape and you can build your film around those key scenes. Because my film was also a personal journey, I was definitely open to those Herzogian moments. I felt like I was Conrad traveling into the “Heart of Darkness” and I allowed myself to be open to interpreting my encounters and capturing those “ecstatic truths” like the dancing chicken from “Stroszek.”

“Success as a filmmaker is defined by experiencing failure. You should never feel successful. You have to make films that you are not happy with. In that way you will always keep busy, have a rigid work ethic and never stop creating in the constant craving to hone your craft. My personal goal as a filmmaker is to continue challenging myself by making difficult, controversial films.”

Lots of quotes as there is not a lot of biographical information on the web. Yung Chang is a first generation Canadian, growing up in Toronto to which his parents had migrated.  He became interested in film whilst at high school where he started to learn his craft.  He studied film at Montreal’s Concordia University and the Meisner [acting] Technique at New York’s Neighbourhood Playhouse School of the Theatre.  His first documentary was made under the auspices of the National Film Board of Canada.  He is working on a film about the Tienanmen Square Massacre.