The Dream Retraced

​Ella is a 10-year experienced Chinese Kunqu opera actress living in Toronto,  dedicating to introducing this declining traditional art to modern audience. By performing the symbolic character of rebellion against suppression in feudal society, Du Liniang, Ella finds her philosophy of life. 

​The short documentary will offer an intimate portrait of a well-trained young Kun opera artist, Ella Shi. It will navigate her learning experience and demonstrate her efforts in introducing this art form to the audience in Toronto.

Day One on Set: Starting the day the crew got right to work setting the space, placing and viewing angles for the camera, while placing the light in position ready for the day to start when our subject of this doc Ella arrived on set. When filming on day one the crew got to experience Ella’s transformation from walking onto set to getting into performance ready costume and makeup. Following the intricate and beautiful start from Ella’s part, the crew was able to view her perform the traditional art of Chinese Kunqu opera.
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Day Two on Set: For day two we were filming outside during amazing weather. Starting the filming day at a park, going to the scout space and setting up the camera, looking at angles, running through the day's shooting plan and waiting for our doc subject Ella to arrive on set. This day we got to experience Ella starting with warming up and running through exercises and stretches she does while practicing and reading for a performance. Followed by her practicing with the water sleeves from her costume to ending with her singing and running through the intricate and meaningfully placed movements of her arms and hands. All while showcasing the beauty of Chinese Kunqu opera.

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The Team

My name is Ruth Dolan and I am the producer of this project. Something that is important to me is the preservation of art and culture so when I heard Ella’s story, I knew I wanted to be on this project.

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​My name is Tim Henry. I worked key grip on set and helped with creating a trailer for The Dream Retraced in post-production. I thought Ella’s backstory was captivating and I was intrigued in new forms of music and performance I had not heard of before.


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Hi, I’m Karolina Lewy, the assistant editor for The Dream Retraced! When I heard Meng’s concept for this documentary, I was intrigued! I’m excited to help with this production and share this wonderful story! ​

My name is Meng Lian. I am the director of The Dream Retraced. I hope to take this opportunity to introduce this beautiful art to more people.



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Hey there, I’m Juan, I’m doing The location audio mixing for Dream. It spiked my interest on how interesting of an opportunity it seemed to be able to record a Traditional Chinese opera singer, and since I knew Meng from before, things just came together seamlessly. Excited to see what this documentary show people about this side of the opera!!!

Hey, I’m David De Furia, the VFX artist for The Dream Retraced! Especially recently in life, I have begun to more properly understand the importance of learning about different cultures, and I am very excited to both learn more about, and help share this culture with more people.

​My name is Xinyue Pei, I am the director of Photographer The Dream Retraced, and I hope to share the beautiful Kunqu opera pictures with you through this shooting.

Hello! My name is Allison Harvie and I am the Sound Editor for “The Dream Retraced”! I love assisting the story using sound editing and sound design, so I am excited to work on this project. I am looking forward to seeing how I can help support Meng’s vision and Ella’s story!


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Hi! I’m Jessie He, a writer for this beautiful documentary. I’m grateful to have worked on this project closely related to my culture!

Hello there! I’m Jonathan Guinto, the Gaffer for “The Dream Retraced”. I truly admired collaborating with such talented people who put their passion into this film. With some dynamic lighting, I hope that it will contribute to building a theatrical environment.​​

​Hi, I’m Jiasheng Di, the picture editor for The Dream Retraced. I was responsible for the film editing, the editing effects and the final mixing of the project. I hope that the storytelling in this work can promote the art form of Kunqu Opera to a wider audience.


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Hi I’m Jasmine Newlove the transmedia/digital media person on The Dream Retraced. I am responsible for working with the social media, website and taking behind the scenes photos for this documentary.