Anayi Movie Recaps

Since I am kind of slow in terms of undating my writings, I have been contemplating on whether I should post Hmong movies summaries/recaps.  In the end, I decided to start with the Miao movie, Anayi.  For those of you who may not be familiar or who are confused, I just wanted to clarify that the term "Miao" used in China encompasses the Hmong and does not mean cat, like the derogatory "Meo" term used in Southeast Asia to label the Hmong in the past.  "Miao" in Chinese is equated with rice seedling, hinting to a possible fact that the Miao were the first people to cultivate rice in the world.  Miaozu, or Miao nationality, are divided into three subbranches (Western, Central, and Eastern) based on dialects and the Hmong outside the China mainland are considered to be in the Far Western group, nonethless still part of the Western Miao branch.  With this said, even though Anayi is about the Central Miao, it is nonetheless a Miao/Hmong movie and that is the reason why I decided to summarize it.  (Note: For those who are curious and don't know, the Eastern Miao are the ones in the poster for "A Candlelight Dream.")

This film was made in 2005 and starred Chouchou (also the director, screenwriter, and co-producer--she graduated from Beijing Art Academy) as the leading protagonist Anayi, Cheng Xiaodong as Ahan, and Wang Xuefeng as Abao.  Chouchou is half Miao, half Dong (an ethnic group who lives near the Miao but in lower elevations near rivers and streams, and who belongs to the same language family as the Thai/Lao), Cheng Xiaodong is Dong, and Wang Xuefeng is Miao.