Reconstructing “Yo I–Friendship” - Camille Wong
Camille Wong ( United States )
While in residence at ZK/U, Camille will recreate the unrealized film treatment “Yo I–Friendship” written by German socialist author Alex Wedding (Grete Weiskopf). Developed between 1956–57, the treatment envisioned a cross-cultural exchange between the People’s Republic of China and East Germany, tracing commodities as symbols of connection between socialist nations. Filmed as a travelogue and experimental documentary, this retelling will follow the treatment’s narrative arc while weaving research and reenactments. This work revisits a forgotten moment of cultural exchange between the GDR and PRC, when state oversight in the film sector loosened, allowing for unprecedented possibilities for imaginative, non-dogmatic approaches to cinema. Staging an encounter between the past and present, this work asks how the ideologies and transnational alliances during this period influence our contemporary beliefs.
