Unstable soul – Penetrating life through documentary

“I didn’t want to become one of the many who, to eat, to earn a reputation or to maintain fame, rely on documentary filmmaking… But I have been filming continuously for the last 10 years to create a diary of images.”

Wu Wenguang, a 54-year-old independent documentary filmmaker and founder of independent documentary in China, proves in his films that reality is the smasher of ideals. Photos provided by Wu Wenguang

By He Jianwei

Wu Wenguang, a 54-year-old independent documentary filmmaker and founder of independent documentary in China, proves in his films that reality is the smasher of ideals.

For the first 10 years of his career he was a recorder of lives, watching people struggle to pursue their dreams.

Since then, he has challenged and redefined conventional wisdom about documentary filmmaking. Rather than hiding behind the camera, he gave cameras to peasants to let them make their own films.