Maomao Zhao
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Blank Canvas (poster)
2020
digital
Statement
Maomao is a documentary filmmaker from China. Her works explore personal stories and real-life situations through verité techniques of intimate engagement with her subjects. She graduated with a BFA in film production from the Central Academy of Drama where she developed skills in script writing, directing, photography, and editing, and is currently completing an MFA in filmmaking at the Maryland Institute College of Art.
Director Statement
Blank Canvas is a personal documentary. Art has always been central to my family, and when my father was diagnosed with a form of paralysis that ended his painting career, his loss changed us as well. So I was interested in considering how using my own art could reciprocally change my father’s outlooks, to push him to paint again. Realism was central to this goal: natural lighting, long takes, and generally integrating the camera into our family’s everyday life.
Filmmaking (MFA) Students