🎬 Film Screening | Living By Er’hai Lake
📅 Saturday, 13th July
🕑 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
📍 Yi Crafts Studio, 60 Neasden Lane, London, NW10 2UW
🎤 Live Q&A with the Production Team following the screening

Tickets including one soft drink & snacks in the veune

Join us for a special screening of Living By Er’hai Lake, a beautifully shot documentary exploring the deep connection between local communities and the natural ecosystem of Er’hai Lake in Yunnan, China.

Along the shores of Erhai Lake, generations of Baichu fishermen have trained cormorants to assist them in fishing — a bond that stretches back over 4,000 years. In 2009, the traditional cormorant fishing skills were officially listed as part of China’s Intangible Cultural Heritage.

However, in today’s world, with rapid economic development and the implementation of strict ecological policies around Erhai, cormorants are no longer permitted to fish in the lake. Instead, they are confined to cages, their survival hanging by a thread.

This film follows the lives of the last three cormorant-raising households in the western of Er’hai lake area. Some continue to feed the birds at their own expense, while others perform staged cormorant shows in artificial lakes — a shadow of the tradition’s former glory. Their emotional bonds with the birds, and the struggles they face, vividly reflect the deepening conflict between environmental conservation and the preservation of cultural heritage.

在洱海边，世代生活的白族渔民驯养鱼鹰作为捕鱼的助手，他们与白族渔民已经相伴了4000年。2009年洱海鱼鹰驯养技艺也被列为“非物质文化遗产名录”。但在今天，随着经济 的发展，以及严格的洱海生态保护政策，鱼鹰不再被允许进入洱海区域捕鱼。鱼鹰只能被关在笼子里，生存状态岌岌可危。

本片跟踪采访了目前海西片区仅剩的三户鱼鹰养殖户，他们有些在自掏腰包继续喂养鱼鹰，有人在景区做着“作弊”地鱼鹰表演。他们与鱼鹰的感情、生活的困顿，都反映出当下，生态保护与文化保护之间的矛盾。

Team members introduction 团队介绍

Jiaqi Wang Editor/Photographer/Director

Jiaqi Wang holds a degree in photography and has worked on several graduation films by Directing students from the BFA(Beijing Film Academy), as well as independent documentaries. He is particularly interested in the LGBTQ+ community and intimate personal narratives. Against the backdrop of our times, he continues to explore how film can be used to engage with and reflect on pressing social issues.

Rongqian Yang Director/Phd candidate of Silpakorn university

Rongqian Yang started out in art, took a wild turn into ethnology, and somehow landed in visual anthropology — guess that’s what happens when you let curiosity drive. Now she’s mostly doing fildswork around water, while the thesis is permanently stuck in “just one chapter left” . The research isn’t done, but the stories made it into a book first.

Danyang Yin. Director

Danyang holds a Master’s degree in Law from King’s College London. After working in the UK, she returned to her hometown of Dali to start her own business — Dali CityTour — a project that reimagines local ethnic culture through immersive, experience-based journeys. As a Baichu woman, she hopes to offer the world a fresh perspective on Dali, rooted in her own heritage and lived experience.