“To Cut Through the Stigma of Wuhan Being This ‘Virus City’": Yung Chang on His Hot Docs-Premiering Wuhan Wuhan

I last interviewed Yung Chang (Up the Yangtze, China Heavyweight) before the TIFF premiere of 2019’s This Is Not a Movie, which follows the uncompromising humanitarian war correspondent Robert Fisk (who died just this past October) on his eternal mission to give the lie to bothsidesism. And while Chang’s latest doc Wuhan Wuhan – an on-the-ground account of life during lockdown from the perspective of several brave and traumatized frontline workers – might seem a breaking news departure, it’s actually very much in line with the multiple award-winning filmmaker’s character-first approach. Whether tackling issues of capitalist exploitation, controversial righteous journalism, or the birth of a global pandemic, it’s the people Chang frames in painterly detail that always take centerstage. Filmmaker was able to catch up with the Canadian director prior to a Toronto debut once again — the world premiere of Wuhan Wuhan at this year’s virtual Hot Docs (April 29-May 9).

To read my interview visit Filmmaker magazine.