Breathing Twice2009

Calligraphic images of paint on skin, which the filmmaker traces on her own body, are intercut with details of New York's Chinatown. Meanwhile, a classic Chinese story, about a clever messenger and a treasured piece of jade, emerges in passing from the ambient sounds heard on Chinatown's streets. BREATHING TWICE is a portrait of a specific place, and also a study of line - line as drawing, painting and writing, and line in relation to language. BREATHING TWICE also looks at less visible lines, especially the elusive, disappearing line that may, or may not, divide one from of reference from another. This piece unfolds in two languages, so that the experience is different depending on whether the viewer speaks English, Chinese, or both.