To Alexandra

synopsis

Set against the poetic backdrop of the Himalayas, a dialogue unfolds between two female travellers separated by a century – a Chinese filmmaker and Alexandra David-Néel, a French explorer, writer and Buddhist scholar who became famous in the early 20th century for her research into Tibetan culture and religion. David-Néel, known for her daring journey to Lhasa in 1924, travelled on foot and by mule, often in disguise and in extreme conditions, to penetrate areas closed to foreigners. The film draws on her letters home, excerpts of which serve as inspirational material and internal commentary on the current journey of the Chinese author, who explores the same landscape from today's perspective. She meets local residents, monks and shepherds, whose views and stories co-create a parallel narrative about the transformation of place and people. The film moves between travelogue, diary and meditation – in a visually lyrical form, it combines documentary observation with introspection and, through personal experience, opens up universal questions of faith, identity and time.

“I am my parents, my ancestors, my teachers, the books I have read, the foods I have eaten, the air I have breathed, the people I have haunted, the environments where I have lived.” — from the letters of Alexandra David-Néel

biography

Yi Cui is a Chinese filmmaker working between her native country and North America. She focuses on intermedia art, including experimental film, video essays, and shadow theatre. She won the grand prize at the short film festival in Oberhausen, Germany. She teaches at Colgate University in the US.

film details

director:	Yi Cui
producer:	Tserang Ghon