#hannah chu

[madf2014-blog]

A Thousand Miles

A Thousand Miles - Hannah Yuanming Zhu

In China, 60 million children are suffering the pain of being separated from their parents. Most see their parents once a year or even less. What is the reason? In this film we hear from the children and parents.

What motivated you to realize this project?

The motivation for making the film is my elder sister, who had been left behind by our parents for few years when she was very little as our parent’s had decided to find a better job in the city but couldn’t afford to bring my sister along. I know the experience of being left by parents has a big negative influence in children’s personalities and lives, so I decided to make this film to raise people’s awareness of the issue. How did the process develop (any issues, great experiences, …) ?

The greatest thing during shooting was having children around us all the time. They were very cute, so filming with them was really pleasant. However, they also posed a bigger problem when filming as they always ran and played around, too energetic and never stayed quiet or still. What do you aspire that this documentary will realize?

Like I said, I made this film in order to publicise the serious impact separation has on children, which is a very big problem in China. I hope either the government or NGOs start looking at the issue. Even if there are organisations already making an effort to help, it’s still far from enough.

  A Thousand Miles Trailer from Hannah Zhu on Vimeo.

MA Documentary Film is part of London College of Communication, University of Arts London. For more info: arts.ac.uk/lcc

[from89]

Surreal World (by Hannah Chu)

Via

[beowulf-ics-blog]

Personal Dragons- Hannah Chu

     Entering high school was like stepping onto the ground of a vast battlefield, on which intimidating dragons lurked around. Perfectionism is the greatest dragon I have encountered so far. As I have been taking vigorous art classes in high school, I have often struggled between being perfect and allowing myself to make mistakes. Whenever I am to draw a straight line but end up making it a bit curved, I wonder if I should draw it again or let it be. I have tried beating down the dragon of perfectionism to the ground a few times by telling myself that I can never be perfect. Several times, I chose to allow room for mistakes. However, my perfectionism has been able to revive again and again. After tolerating errors for a few times, I often find myself trying to amend every mistake in the end. In the same way, Beowulf was able to throw Grendel's mother to the floor but she was able to rise again to attack him, draining out his strength. "He was weary, that best and strongest of soldiers; his feet stumbled and in an instant she had him down, held helpless." Perfectionism often takes away all of my energy and brings me down. However, with the help of God and the support of my friends and family, I am often able to stand back up and fight against the dragon again. After Grendel's mother brought Beowulf to the ground, he was protected by the woven mail shirt he wore on his chest. "He'd have traveled to the bottom of the earth, Edgetho's son, and died there, if that shining woven metal had not helped- and Holy God, who sent him victory, gave judgment for truth and right, Ruler of the Heavens, once Beowulf was back on his feet and fighting." Sometimes, I am able to wear a shining woven metal- the support from God, my family, and friends- who remind me to allow myself to make mistakes and protect me from perfectionism. Unfortunately, unlike Beowulf who was able to defeat both Grendel and his mother in the end, I have still been unable to ultimately defeat perfectionism and am not sure when I will ever be able to. I have been trapped in an iterant cycle in which I have been alternating between being able to stop striving to be impeccable and being a perfectionist. I do not think I will ever be able to entirely defeat perfectionism with my own strength, as Beowulf was able to defeat Grendel. However, I believe that I might be able to ultimately defeat it in the future, with the aid of strong support and the reminder that I must let myself make mistakes. Only with the help of a strong weapon was Beowulf able to defeat Grendel's mother.

     Perfectionism is like Grendel because it is inconspicuous. Because Grendel approached Herot during the night, people did not see him. "He moved quickly through the cloudy night, up from his swampland, sliding silently toward that gold-shining hall." I often do not even notice perfectionism coming towards me to attack me. In order to make my art pieces look perfect, I often spend hours and hours on it without realizing that perfectionism has driven me out of control. Perfectionism is like Grendel's mother because it is able to get back up and defeat me even after I have succeeded in bringing it down. However, Beowulf was able to defeat it in the end but I have not been able to completely defeat perfectionism yet, even after several times of being able to attack it successfully. Perfectionism is also like Grendel's mother because it is hard to defeat, but can be defeated with the help of a strong weapon. I believe that when I learn to face the fact that I can never be perfect, I might be able to defeat perfectionism. I have not succeeded in beating it down yet because of my natural disposition. I just cannot help myself from feeling uncomfortable when I can point out mistakes I make. As experienced many times in the past, my fingers just automatically move to make amendments. This dragon of perfectionism is probably out there for a reason, which is to remind me that I was not designed to be perfect and must allow myself to make mistakes. I have definitely created this dragon on my own by telling myself that I should try to be perfect. 

     Another terribly frightening dragon I have encountered is anxiety. It is hard to defeat this dragon because there is no way I will ever be able to predict the future and not have to worry about it. Unlike Beowulf who was able to defeat Grendel at ease, I have not been able to defeat anxiety and am still battling with it. In fact, I have recently been really anxious about the score I will get for the SAT, which I took a few days ago. Even though I cannot do anything about it now, I keep worrying about it. However, I have been able to scratch the dragon's skin whenever I remember that God holds my future and has already planned the best for me. Gladly, the skin of my personal dragon is not as thick as that of Grendel's mother, which was so thick that "her guest discovered that no sword could slice her evil skin." God's powerful, comforting words serve as my sword, which are able to get rid of a certain amount of anxiety. Unfortunately, I have not been able to fully defeat anxiety yet because I just happen to be a worrywart and am still in the process of learning how to hand all of my worries over to God.

     Anxiety is like Grendel because it is deleterious. Grendel "intended to tear the life from those bodies by morning; the monster's mind was hot with the thought of food and the feasting his belly would soon know." Anxiety harms me both physically and mentally. It gives me sleepless nights and drives me insane. It is also joyless like Grendel, who "journeyed, forever joyless," making me feel downcast. Grendel creates a pessimistic atmosphere, and so does anxiety. Anxiety is like Grendel's mother because it gnaws at me fiercely. "She welcomed him in her claws, clutched at him savagely but could not harm him, tried to work her fingers through the tight ring-woven mail on his breast, but tore and scratched in vein." She was persistent and endeavored greatly to harm him. Anxiety never fails to beat me down hard and stop me from moving on. I often dwell on the past and become unable to focus on the present. However, Beowulf was able to withstand Grendel's mother, while I have failed to withstand anxiety. I believe that my personal dragon of anxiety exists to allow me to grow in my relationship with God as I must learn to trust that my future is safe in His hands and that there is no need for me to ever worry. I have been the main creator of this dragon because I have failed to lay everything in God's hands.

     In my point of view as a Christian, it is hard for us to defeat our dragons on our own, because we are absolutely weak compared to God and must gain strength from Him in order to overcome our struggles. Since it is hard to fully rely on God for strength, we are unable to defeat all of our dragons. As mentioned previously, I have been going through this difficulty when facing my dragon of anxiety. Beowulf was only able to defeat Grendel's mother with the help of a powerful weapon, which was a heavy, strong sword that was hammered by giants. Likewise, we must use strong weapons to defeat our dragons and cannot depend on ourselves. I believe that everyone has personal dragons for a reason. They are to remind us that we are far from impeccable and must seek God's help when facing struggles. Based on my personal experience, most of our struggles are often actually created by us and are internal. No one ever told me to be a perfectionist or to be a worrywart. In fact, my friends and family often remind me to put an end to both. We are often creating our own struggles and must rely on God's strength to fight them from within.

[beowulf-ics-blog]

Epic Boast- Hannah Chu

From the line of affluent owners

of noteworthy companies,

came I, The Noble Hannah Chu.

My father is a loyal Reverend

and my mother a faithful teacher assistant.

As my honorable name proclaims,

I am favored by the Almighty God

I am a dashing star

that soars to the tip of the galaxy

and am of a size greater than the Sun.

I am the ambassador of my church’s youth group,

the organizer of extravagant events,

and the initiator of spreading the glorious news of God.

I foster service to the community

and provide perpetual guidance to little children.

I make the unwanted feel wanted,

make the unnoticed feel noticed,

and make the impossible, possible.

I console weary hearts,

alleviate irascible souls,

and turn crowds of morose into crowds of joy.

I draw smiles on faces

and turn tears of sorrow into tears of felicity.

I am the mighty pacifier,

capable of terminating

tumultuous whirlwinds and fierce storms.

Of all anchors for lost ships of the vast sea,

I am the sturdiest.

Darkness and I have already met,

yet I have been able to defeat it

with my sword of glistening light.

The laws of nature cannot stop me

from achieving the remarkable;

the descending sun fails to beat me down to bed.

Nothing can hamper me from reaching my goals,

for I am determined and strongly aspired.

Furthermore, I possess innate abilities

which succor me in my striking success.

Malicious germs do me no harm,

for within me stands a shining shield

that defeats them when they attack.

My memory never fails me;

throw thousands of unfamiliar words at me

and I will recite every single one of them

in an instant.

I am adept in fine arts,

skilled in the mastery of producing life on canvas

and am able to dart blotches of paint with great precision.

Show me the photograph of a famous figure

and I will produce a replica

without marring his or her recognized countenance.

My hands move magically here and there

without my knowing.  

Diligently, I do everything

with all my heart, mind, and soul.

Planning ahead of time,

I strive to eliminate all hindrance.

Climbing the steep ladder of knowledge,

I ascend step by step;

soon I will reach the Milky Way.

Willingly will I provide for those in need

and guide those who are lost.

Seek and you will find me,

knock at my door and I will come,

for my name is

Hannah Chu.

[vicnarciso]

It's Raining Again - Moby

Oh, and it's raining again Light on your car light, bullets on tin Oh, and its raining again Open the door and pulling me in

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finally got to shoot in the rain again. too bad it was an unplanned thing and we weren't prepared. haha! 

[vicnarciso]

Calendar Girl - Stars

if I am lost for a day  try to find me, but if i don't come back  then i won't look behind me. all of the things i thought were so easy just got harder and harder each day december is darkest,  and june is the light. but this empty bedroom won't make anything right. and out on the landing  a friend i forgot to send home who waits up for me all through the night. calendar girl, whos in love with the world stay alive

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUN826BdvV4