The Trip

The young Rwandan filmmaker set to work in China by carefully feeling his way. He occasionally asked difficult questions that were not easy to answer. For instance, he wondered how the one-child policy and abortion worked. But people were not willing to talk about it.
He wanted to make an experimental essay. Searching for substance, but also for form. The Chinese film students in his team could not always follow his hesitancy. Anyhow, they had to learn the difference between inefficiency and thoughtfulness.
Niyongabo calls the film a meditation. An observation of Chinese culture and society. The gaze of a foreigner, observing from a distance. Since he was based there, he focused on the town of Songzhuang, a village-like part of Beijing where many artists live. He talked to these people, but also to others he happened to meet. He summarises his experiences in two extensive monologues that are recited in elegant Mandarin.