Fighting Against Typhoon
(2019 | Super8 Celluloid Film with Live Performance)
Fighting Against Typhoon (戰颱風) shows the power and beauty of the song and Guzheng instrument which is representative of the Chinese women of today. They fight the forces of society for political, economical, social and personal equality, while also protecting their family along the way. I used the typhoon as a metaphor for this story, capturing an internal struggle that happens everyday for women of colour.
Utilizing news coverage of typhoon disasters in Asia, along with aerial images of typhoons from space, I projected the beautiful, yet ominous white swirls, onto the faces of the female members of my family and then shot on Super8 celluloid film and painted over with colour ink washes.
It was screened at the 2019 Artifact Small Format Film Festival with live music accompaniment by the Harmony Guzheng Ensemble playing 戰颱風 (Fighting Against Typhoon) by 王昌元 (Wang Changyuan).
Produced with support from the Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers Film/Music Explosion! Program.
(Photo Credit: Aran Wilkinson-Blanc)
Hearth of the Lion
2021 | 6:38 min. | Video
Hearth of the Lion illustrates the bond between three brothers, with their dedication, discipline and passion on display, as they embody the powerful movements of the lion and the fire of the wok hearth.
Funded by Calgary Arts Development and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts
TD Music Connected Series: FOONYAP
2021 | 27:21 min. | Video
I collaborated with musician FOONYAP to record this intimate live set at Paper Lantern, a Vietnamese cocktail bar in Calgary's Chinatown, as part of the TD Music Connected Series, presented by Canada's Music Incubator with additional funding by Alberta Music.
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À propos de l'artiste
Vicki Van Chau is a filmmaker and artist based in Calgary, Alberta. After 12 years of working as an arts administrator and programmer at EMMEDIA Gallery & Production Society, she left in 2020 to focus on her own film practice. She has since produced and directed several award-winning short films that have screened across Canada and internationally, earning her the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award in 2022 and the Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2023.
She is an active arts community member and has sat on the Board of Directors for the Untitled Art Society (now known as The Bows), EXPOSURE Photography Festival, Alberta Media Arts Alliance Society (AMAAS), and currently the Calgary Underground Film Festival (CUFF). She has also been a consultant for Calgary Arts Development, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Canada Council for the Arts and the Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA).
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Déclaration de l'artiste
As a second generation Chinese-Vietnamese Canadian, her short films mainly focus on the Asian diaspora experience. Her family and cultural identity has been a core inspiration in her artistic practice and helps her to promote the appreciation of both Chinese and Vietnamese culture through a uniquely Canadian perspective.