Yunhong Pu is a director, editor, cinematographer, and producer based in New York City. Born and raised in China, she received her MFA in Social Documentary Film from SVA in 2019. “Go Through the Dark” is her first feature documentary.

“Go Through the Dark” starts screening at the 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival on November 13. The fest runs from November 10-28.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

YP: “Go Through the Dark” depicts the challenges of an 11-year-old blind boy and his father, who depend on each other. The boy’s blindness, family background, and society block them from chasing their dream to make the boy a professional Go player. [The film explores] the tough decisions they need to make to pursue their dream.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

YP: When I first heard about Guanglin, he was already well-known in the Chinese Go community as a blind Go player. People knew that there was a blind child Go player, but they didn’t know the troubles he had to face. His difficulties were not just his blindness, but also the lack of societal facility, and some extremely challenging choices.

Seeing a blind child chase a dream is a very inspirational story, but at the same time, it is also an in-depth exploration of human nature. I hope that through this film, society can provide more help and opportunities for disabled people so that they also have the right and opportunities to chase their dreams.

Of course, I also hope that more people will know the story of Guanglin and his father and be moved and inspired by their stories, like I am.

W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?

YP: I hope that people around the world will see how difficult disabled people’s lives are. A little care from us will change their life a lot.

And I want people to feel conflicted — I know some of them feel for characters that they started out hating. Human nature is complicated. Also, the expression of love is not always single and pure.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

YP: My main character is a blind boy. He has no idea what cameras are, and what filming is. [Due to] his blindness, he’s very taciturn, and he is used to hiding his emotions. Although he couldn’t see the camera, he always knew where the camera was, and then he would avoid the camera. I spent a long time with him, [allowing him to begin to] trust me and be familiar with the camera.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

YP: I self-financed the initial trip to China, as well as the production. And as this film is my thesis film for my MFA, I took the scholar grant.

W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

YP: When I was in middle school, my cousin got leukemia — a mysterious disease that was barely known and paid attention to by society at that time. There were even rumors that donating bone marrow to patients with leukemia could harm donors’ health severely. However, my cousin’s case was fortunately reported on television in my hometown. The report also [confirmed] that the bone marrow transplant would not harm the donor at all. My cousin received deep sympathy from many townspeople and luckily found a volunteer to do the surgery as well. This was the first time that I realized the power of a camera.

When I was a freshman, I met a group of parents collecting money for their children diagnosed with leukemia. To pass on the goodwill, I made my first documentary for these kids. After delivering their stories to society, I made up my mind to become a filmmaker. I want to deliver more moving stories to the world.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

YP: There’s a piece of advice about advice: “At first, it might be disorienting — especially if you hear conflicting opinions.” My advice is to try to detach your emotions. It’s natural when getting feedback to have a rush of self-criticism, regret over things you wished you did differently, insecurity, and all kinds of self-doubts. Everyone feels those things, whether they are beginners or veterans.

Let the feedback conversations flow because you never know what ideas they’ll spark. Of course, some of that flow you’ll discard, but you need to keep the flow going to reach the advice you’ll want to keep.” I always remember it. I think it’s beneficial to my whole life, and it helped me deal with bad advice, [allowing it] to be useful.

W&H: What advice do you have for other women directors? 

YP: If you feel strongly that you have a story to tell, be brave and go with it. It’s nothing about gender. When we begin to work, we are not men or women, but only filmmakers. All we need to do is show our talent, express our feeling, tell our stories, and show our opinion.

W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you keeping creative, and if so, how?

YP: The quarantine life of the COVID-19 pandemic pushed me to focus on the post-production of my film. Although I missed my previous life as badly as everyone else, I focused on my film in its editing stage; I was obedient in that situation to filmmaking.

W&H: The film industry has a long history of underrepresenting people of color onscreen and behind the scenes and reinforcing — and creating — negative stereotypes. What actions do you think need to be taken to make it more inclusive?

YP: Sociologists have found that prejudices break down when people of various ethnic groups have increased contact. Documentary filmmakers can break [down prejudices] by delivering more stories from different backgrounds and people of different colors. As a result, they can help the world better understand people of color and eliminate their negative stereotypes.

At the same time, documentaries can also use the novel content of these mass media to let the world learn at its own will. They will bring different perspectives in the cultural context. Initially, the film industry will be a voice for people of color to those of color who can use it to display their talents and speak for themselves.