Ep.17: From the Outside Looking In - A Conversation with Jiakai Lou

You may have heard about Ting Zhao, the documentary filmmaker who recently became the first Asian Woman to win a Golden Globe for her film 'Nomad Land' - a film observing U.S. culture. Our guest on this episode of The Spark Podcast is an aspiring documentary filmmaker and visual journalist currently based in Missoula, Montana who is well on his way to following Ting Zhao's footsteps. Jiakai Lou, known as JK, has spent the last few years observing U.S. culture first-hand from behind a camera lens. In this episode, JK shares what led him not only to come to the United States, but to land in a place so different from what he knows and from the rest of the United States. He tells us what it's like to lean into cultural barriers and build trust to document the intimate moments and details of day to day life of those different from him as an outsider looking in. Currently, JK is sitting at a crossroad: To stay in the U.S. or to go. No matter where he lands in the world, he longs to create compelling cinematic stories and meaningful work surrounding conservation, art, and outdoor culture. 你可能听说过2021年3月获得第78届美国电影电视金球奖的首位中国女导演，也是金球奖历史上首位获得最佳导演奖的亚洲女性赵婷。作为一位北京生女导演，她的获奖影片《无依之地》却是一部基于美国文化生活观察的作品。我们这集的嘉宾恰巧也是一位像赵婷一样，在成为纪录片制片人之路上不停奋斗的视觉摄影师。Jiakai Lou (JK)目前居住在蒙大拿米苏拉。几年来，他一直在镜头后观察美国文化。在这集中，JK不仅分享了他来美国的决定过程，他更是解释了为什么当初他选择在一个和美国大部分地区完全不同，并且超乎大部分人认知的蒙大拿州定居。他不仅细致地描述了一种在文化边缘游走的状态，更是分享了作为一个外人，他是如何一步一步地在拍摄纪录片的过程中，与不同的个体建立信任。目前，JK站在十字路的路口，面临着是留在美国还是离开美国的选择。不论最终决定去往世界的那个角落发展，他都希望能为自然保护，艺术，还有户外等话题继续创作富有感染力，生命力，还有意义的影像作品。