AYI
by Aël THERY and Marine OTTOGALLI
2019 - 69 min - HD
In coproduction with Ana Films, Alsace 20, ViàVosges et RTGE
With the support of CNC, Région Grand Est, Eurométropole and Procirep-Angoa
Production : Milana Christich
Editing : Pascale Hannoyer
Mixing : Kinane Moualla
Music : Julie Honoré
Sound : Jeremy Vernerey Zheng YI
Color grading : Gautier Gumpper
SYNOPSIS
Ayi is 50 years old, with smiling eyes and hair that falls to her lower back. She comes from a rural province in eastern China and does not have the residence permit that would allow her to work legally in Shanghai.
Yet she has been cooking on the street for 20 years, in the heart of a Shanghai neighborhood slated for imminent demolition. Ayi and the women around her struggle to make a living and evade the Chengguan, the municipal police.
The film reveals the chaos of an ultra-modern city working to eradicate practices deemed unsanitary and to evict an unwanted population, embodied by Ayi.
AWARDS AND SELECTIONS
- Les Étoiles de la Scam 2021
- “Prix Ecran d'Or” - Les Ecrans de Chine Festival - 2023
- “Lune d'argent” & “Lune du public” - 7ème Lune Festival - 2021
- “Experiences du regard” - États généraux du film documentaire 2020
- “Press Award” & “Special Mention from the Professional Jury” - Aye Aye VO International Film Festival of Nancy - 2020
- “Premiers regards” – Grand Bivouac – 2020
- “First Film Award” – Jean Rouch International Film Festival – 2020
- “Best Documentary Award” – South Film Festival, Taiwan – 2020
- Docs en Goguette Festival – 2020
AËL THERY
After studying Chinese and hospitality management, Aël Théry turned to anthropology, earned a master’s degree from EHESS, and is currently pursuing her research as part of her doctoral thesis. She is interested in the transmission of cooking techniques and the process of learning the culinary trade, first in Taiwan and then in China. During her two years of fieldwork and living in Shanghai, she mapped out urban routes through street food, a project that led to the film Aiyi on the Street. This documentary is her first film.
MARINE OTTOGALI
After studying visual media, Marine deepened her understanding of documentary filmmaking by pursuing a degree in anthropology at EHESS. In 2015, she directed her first documentary film, Svein-à-Mula, the Icelander Who Ran Out of Gas. As a cinematographer, she has worked on various documentary projects. In Aiyi on the Street, Marine is capturing the daily routines and future prospects of Aiyi, a street cook in the heart of Shanghai.
