Filmmaker Spotlight & Interview
Who Calls Her A Witch?
Young Filmmaker Ziyue Li Explores Fate, Identity, and the Power of Belief
At an age when most students are still exploring their future, Chinese filmmaker Ziyue Li turns her own uncertainty into a thought-provoking documentary about traditional beliefs, gender, and the power of interpretation.
For Ziyue Li, a high school filmmaker from Nanjing, China, the journey into documentary filmmaking began with a question she could not answer: What does she truly want from her future?
While struggling with academic burnout and uncertainty about her ambition to become a film director, Li traveled to Qiandongnan, Guizhou Province, where she encountered women believed to interpret people’s destinies through traditional practices involving egg-burning and rice divination.
What began as a personal search for direction gradually transformed into an exploration of cultural traditions, gender expectations, social perceptions, and the responsibilities of documentary filmmakers.
Her film, Who Calls Her a Witch?, examines not only the women who interpret the lives and futures of others but also how society interprets these women—and how filmmakers themselves influence the stories audiences ultimately see.
From Personal Uncertainty to Documentary Discovery
Unlike conventional documentaries that begin with a clearly defined subject, Li’s project emerged from her own emotional struggles.
“I began this film because I could not explain myself,” Li reflects in her director’s statement. “I had always believed I wanted to become a director, yet the closer I came to that path, the more I questioned whether it was truly my desire or simply an answer I feared letting go.”
This uncertainty led her to rural Guizhou, where traditional forms of divination continue to influence how people interpret illness, family relationships, and future possibilities.
Initially fascinated by the mysterious reputation of the women practicing these traditions, Li approached them through a familiar label: witches.
However, her perspective began to change as she spent time observing and documenting their lives.
“I first called them ‘witches,’ drawn to the word’s mystery,” she explains. “Filming their lives made me realize that the label revealed more about my imagination than about them.”
Her realization became a turning point in the documentary.
Rather than focusing on whether the women’s predictions were accurate, Li began examining why people sought their guidance and how these practices offered comfort, trust, and a sense of order in uncertain circumstances.
Looking Beyond Tradition and Superstition
At the center of Who Calls Her a Witch? is a complex relationship between cultural belief and social authority.
The documentary explores how practitioners interpret the concerns of those seeking guidance, how gender expectations influence whose knowledge is respected, and how outsiders impose labels that shape the public perception of traditional practices.
Li also turns the camera’s critical perspective toward herself.
Through filming, editing, translation, and subtitles, she recognizes that documentary filmmakers possess their own power to interpret and reshape reality.
This awareness raises a deeper question: Can a documentary truly represent another person’s experience without influencing how audiences understand it?
For Li, the filmmaking process became as important as the subject itself.
“My focus shifted from whether the rituals ‘worked’ to how interpretation creates trust, comfort, and power,” she explains. “I also realized that translation, subtitles, narration, and editing reshape how the women are seen.”
Rather than offering simple conclusions about traditional beliefs, the film invites viewers to reconsider their assumptions and approach unfamiliar cultural practices with curiosity and respect.
A Young Filmmaker with a Broader Social Vision
Currently attending Nanjing Foreign Language School, Ziyue Li represents an emerging generation of filmmakers interested in connecting personal experiences with larger social questions.
Her creative interests extend beyond cinema to theatre and writing, with particular attention to gender, educational equity, social class, public policy, and marginalized communities.
She has participated in school theatre productions, including all-female performances, as well as short films, promotional videos, and experimental essay films.
Across these projects, Li is developing a creative approach that considers not only what stories are told but also who has the authority to tell them.
Her interest in documentary cinema comes from its ability to reveal the complexities of everyday life and encourage audiences to question established perceptions.
Rather than seeking immediate answers, she sees filmmaking as an opportunity to observe people patiently, explore human emotions, and better understand the social structures that shape individual experiences.
Documentary Filmmaking as a Search for Understanding
One of the most compelling aspects of Li’s film is the relationship between the young filmmaker and the women she documents.
Both are searching for meaning in circumstances they cannot fully control.
The women offer interpretations intended to help others navigate uncertainty, while Li uses filmmaking to examine her own doubts about identity and the future.
As the documentary unfolds, the distinction between observer and subject becomes increasingly blurred.
Li recognizes that interpretation can provide emotional comfort and social connection, but it can also reinforce prejudice and unequal power relationships.
“The film became both an inquiry into folk belief and a reflection on documentary ethics,” she explains.
Although the journey does not provide a definitive answer about her future, it changes how she understands the purpose of storytelling.
“I found no certain answer about my future, but learned that interpretation can help us face uncertainty; it cannot choose for us.”
A New Generation of International Storytellers
For Jackson Doc Fest, Ziyue Li’s work reflects the importance of encouraging young filmmakers to explore meaningful subjects beyond conventional storytelling.
Her documentary demonstrates how personal curiosity can lead to broader conversations about gender, cultural identity, traditional beliefs, and the ethics of representation.
It also highlights the growing contributions of young filmmakers from East Asia who are using documentary cinema to examine their communities through fresh and thoughtful perspectives.
At the heart of Who Calls Her a Witch? is a universal experience: the desire to understand ourselves and find direction in an uncertain world.
Through her journey, Li discovers that answers do not always come from predicting the future. Sometimes, they emerge from learning how to listen, observe, and question the assumptions through which we see others.
For a filmmaker still at the beginning of her creative journey, that realization may be more valuable than any prediction.
About the Filmmaker
Ziyue Li is a high school filmmaker from Nanjing, China, currently studying at Nanjing Foreign Language School. Her work explores gender, cultural identity, educational equity, and marginalized communities through documentary film, theatre, and writing. She hopes to pursue a filmmaking career focused on human experiences, social awareness, and meaningful storytelling.