WEN Hao; Translator: Michelle DEETER
Abstract
In this film review, I mainly focus on selected scenes of negotiation in Feng Yan’s (冯艳) documentary Bing’ai 秉爱 (2007), treating independence as a form of philosophical affect and using this as a basis for analysis. Using the narrative of the documentary, decisions regarding the camera angle, and interviews with director Feng Yan as evidence, I argue that the independent spirit of the subject, Zhang Bing’ai (张秉爱), and Bing’ai, the independent documentary, have a mutually complementary and reflective relationship. Through in-depth analysis of the secretly filmed negotiation scene, I propose that independence serves as an affective link between the subject and the documentarist. The unpolished, powerful sense of participating in the action helps to affect the audience and strengthen; our understanding and acceptance of independent films.