…Ricky Qi!
Every year, it is not an easy task to choose a WildChina Explorer. This year we received piles of inspirational applications and fun videos, making the reviewing process a lot of fun! It’s exciting to see up-and-coming China explorers wanting to get their hiking boots dirty. However, with every contest, not everyone can be a winner (though I wish they could be!).
After a long deliberation among our judging panel, they chose Ricky and his continued pursuits in filming a feature-length documentary about the Mosuo people, China’s last matriarchal society. Hovering between the borders of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, his filming adventure will lead him on a month-long trek via horse caravan to some of the most remote and least documented places in the lower Himalayas.
[Left: Teammate. Right: Ricky]
The son of Chinese immigrants, Ricky spent his childhood in Southern California. His travels have taken him to destinations from the fabled Scottish Highlands to the deep reaches of the Karakoram in Central Asia. He has devoted his life to film, exploring the medium’s ability to transfigure an audience’s perception of culture, place, and time. For the past two years, Ricky has been producing and directing a documentary. We at WildChina are excited to be a part of his journey into northern Yunnan and to follow his documentary’s story from remote villages into the beyond.
Check out his documentary’s teaser here.
Follow his expeditions on Instagram @supplythelight.
Congratulations on winning the 2014 WildChina Explorer Grant, Ricky!
