TITLE: Freedom

She yearned for freedom from an early age.

Growing up in an environment full of gender discrimination, she felt like she was in a cage every day. She once tied the towel around her neck that she used to wipe away her sweat into a knot, feeling the tightness on her skin with tears in her eyes. When she was 20, she paid for her younger brother's last semester of high school, then packed a backpack that could only fit a basketball and took the train to Beijing, never speaking to her family afterwards.

When I first met her on set, she was 23 and working as a production assistant. I could not imagine the hardships she had endured to get there. “I just want to be free, to live the life I want,” she said, gazing at the desolate grass of Beijing's suburbs at dawn while resting her face on a bottle of soda.

After a commercial shoot, we even talked about reincarnation. If she could be reborn, what would she be? She never told me the exact answer to that question. Eight months later, she chose to leave this world peacefully. Perhaps this was her idea of ultimate freedom.

If we could be reborn, far away from this complicated society, life may suddenly have infinite possibilities.

We could soar, flying into the light to greater heights. We could turn into a dolphin, jumping joyfully out of the cloud sea. We could become a bird, spreading our wings in the atmosphere. We could even come to the center of the universe and become a freely floating drop of water. As we ascend, we arrive at the freest kingdom.

No matter what possibilities she will choose in her next incarnation, she will certainly gain her freedom.

I truly believe that.

AUTHOR: Jue Lin (China)

Jue Lin graduated from Beijing Film Academy, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and Television Directing, and is now studying Production Design at American Film Institute Conservatory to pursue a MFA degree. She worked as a director and production designer on the fantasy short film titled PASSWORD? which was selected in the 15th FIRST International Film Festival. Her works have also been shortlisted and awarded in the 10th National Advertising Art Design Competition, National Geographic Photo Contest, BiliBili Movie Mashup Competition, and the 35th Golden Rooster Film Festival. Her photography was recently featured in the Asian Contemporary Art Alliance's monochrome photography exhibition.

As a photographer, Jue Lin is eager to explore the possibility of creating a new world and incorporating supernatural themes and legends into her works. She believes that stories are born in the moment of pressing the shutter.