RICKY QI

Filmmaker | Photographer

I’m Ricky Qi, an award-winning filmmaker and National Geographic photographer. I’m passionate about our collective history and heritage, and the underlying currents that move and shape human tradition.

Over the last decade, I’ve explored some of the most remote corners of the world, documenting traditional cultures as they adapt to the pressures of our increasingly interconnected society. My documentary work has been featured on publications such as National Geographic, NPR, as well as in galleries such as the Forbidden Palace Museum in Beijing. 

In addition to my documentary work, I am also a narrative writer and director. Drawing from both my Chinese heritage and my upbringing in the United States, my aim is to tell entertaining, thought-provoking stories that bridge the cultural distance between my ancestry in China and my home in the States. My screenplays have garnered attention at the Austin Film Festival’s Screenwriting Competition, and my latest film, Year of the Rat, premiered at the 2022 Hawai’i International Film Festival and received a Golden Angel Award at the 2022 Chinese American Film Festival. 

Whether immersing myself in remote locale or exploring with an actor the subtext behind a line of dialogue, these diverse experiences have helped define my journey as an artist and storyteller, and continue to inspire me to tell stories that chronicle the human condition in its unending depth, passion, and complexity.

When not working, I enjoy fly fishing in the Eastern Sierras as well as exploring new surf breaks along the California coast.

 
“The truth of a thing is in the feel of it, not in the think of it.”

Year of the Rat (27 min, Narrative)

Yearning for companionship but failing to connect with her American daughter, a middle-aged Chinese immigrant turns to the unlikely world of online dating.

Written, directed, and co-produced by Ricky Qi. World Premiere, 2022 Hawai’i International Film Festival. Golden Angel Award Recipient, 2022 Chinese American Film Festival.

Under One Roof (Documentary)

Under One Roof is a documentary chronicling the Mosuo people, China’s last matriarchal tribe. For centuries, the Mosuo lived in one of the most remote parts of all of China: To their south lie the great river trenches of Yunnan: impossibly steep gorges carved out by eons of flowing glacial meltwater. To their north lies the imposing Hengduan Mountain range - gateway to the Himalayas.

Throughout history, geography has always favored the Mosuo, shielding them from the tumult that raged across China in the 20th century. Now, as a new era of growing prosperity dawns, the Mosuo are faced with a crossroads: stay in the mountains and grasp onto their traditions in fierce isolation, or adapt and face an uncertain future head-on. Some have chosen to stay, while others venture into the unknown. No matter their decision, this much is certain: the Mosuo must redefine their understanding of themselves, and of the brave new world they’re set to encounter.

Written, directed, and co-produced by Ricky Qi. Recipient of National Geographic Explorer Grant & Wild China Explorer of the Year Grant.