A Journey of the Leaves
Director：Yash Zhang
Screenwriter：
Cast：Yash Zhang, A Ming
Producer：Yash Zhang
Cinematographer：
Running Time：
Region：
Year：
Language：Mandarin Chinese, English
Production Company：
SYNOPSIS
While fleeing, I come across a fellow traveler, a bookstore assistant, a familiar companion from my homeland, and an Estonian poet’s statue. Witnessing your shapes, I choose to unlock a door with you. This personal essay film embarks on a lyrical journey, delving into the realms of diaspora, queerness, and healing found through encountering.
Director Biography
Yash Zhang is a London-based Chinese filmmaker and performer whose work explores queerness, fluidity, mental health, and futurity. Yash’s work-in-progress debut feature documentary “Ma, Let’s Fly Together” has been selected for the UnionDocs Summer Lab (2024) and Edinburgh Pitch (2024), Sheffield MeetMarket (2025), IDFA Project Space (2025), CNEX Chinese Doc Forum (2025). Yash’s short films and collaborations have been featured at various festivals and exhibitions, including Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival (2025), Nowness (2024), Scottish Queer International Film Festival(2025), Sheffield Doc Fest (2024), Indie Memphis Film Festival (2022), etc. Yash holds an MFA in Creative Documentary from University College London (UK) and a BA in Theatre and Film Interdisciplinary major from Rhodes College (US).
Director's Statement
In a poetic interweaving of paths, ‘The Journey of Leaves’ is a personal essay film that charts the introspective voyage of the filmmaker adrift from home. Captured during a springtime journey to Estonia with a Super8mm camera, the film navigates the intersections of diaspora, queerness, and the search for solace. Our traveler encounters kindred spirits: an unknown giver of books, a homesick American, an Estonian poet, and a fellow Chinese traveler. Together, they uncover shared traumas and the transformative power of kinship. This lyrical odyssey seeks not to only explore the complexity of the memories but also to embrace the fluid identities and healing found in the journey itself.
Leave a Comment