Director‘s Statement
Despite the 40-year duration of China's Reform and Opening-Up policy, mixed marriages remain an uncommon phenomenon. There's a group of people that most Chinese have never heard of: women who aspire to marry abroad. These women are usually divorced or widowed and have never been overseas before. In traditional Chinese society, loyalty to one husband was considered the top moral trait for a woman. Zhao Ban (45-117 AD) expressed this sentiment in her book "Lessons for Women": "A man can have multiple wives, but a woman cannot marry twice." The social status of women underwent a significant change in modern Chinese society. Women began to assert their autonomy in marriage. However, it is still challenging for a divorced or widowed woman to find a suitable new husband. The story of a Chinese-American lady I met in Boston, who later became one of the characters in this documentary, intrigued me. "I have been married four times in total, two Chinese husbands and two American husbands," she shared. I was shocked to hear about her experiences under the social phenomena of son preference, the one-child policy, and the status of women. I wanted to understand more about why they were willing to confront uncertainty, challenges, and even dangers. This led me to explore the stories of other women like her, and after listening to their experiences, I felt compelled to turn their stories into a film. During the making of this documentary, I felt a strong desire to delve deep into their lives and explore their thoughts, even though it was a relatively private topic. I was fortunate to be able to live with my characters while filming and form strong friendships with them. Through this film, I want my audience to experience the emotions I felt while shooting it. I hope my documentary will prompt the audience to start asking questions. Why did these women decide to marry abroad? What compelled them to take this path? What aspects of our society need to change? While there may be no definitive right or wrong answers, I firmly believe that when people begin asking questions, it paves the way for positive societal transformations.