DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT:

​

Several summers ago, during my 15-month Fulbright Arts Grant residency in China, I found myself wandering the Tibetan Plateau alone on foot, in search of a mysterious medicinal creature known as “caterpillar fungus”, when a blizzard appeared out of nowhere and stranded me in the mountains.

 

Thankfully, amidst this remote wilderness, I happened upon a family of tent-dwelling caterpillar-fungus diggers, who invited me to stay with them until the storm passed, then join their hunt. “Winter Worm Summer Grass” (the Chinese and Tibetan name for “caterpillar fungus”) is an intimate portrait of this family and the friendship we forged together in a most unlikely of encounters.

 

I am indescribably grateful to the community at the heart of this film – not only because they likely saved my life, but also for the lessons they shared with me about *how* to live, and how to treat other people. We developed a deep bond together, a true friendship that still exists today. The family not only permitted me to film the entire experience, they became my collaborators, as I became a part of the movie alongside them. The film documents this process as it unfolds.

 

One of the family members, a young man named Pengcuo, attributed our meeting and resulting friendship to “yuanfen” 缘分, the Buddhist concept of a fateful binding force that brings people together. I agree. 

​

As a filmmaker, I am very sensitive to the concerns of representation and access and privilege. I'm grateful for the opportunity to share this film with others. I believe “Winter Worm Summer Grass” is a positive example of how filmmaking can bring people together and help reveal our common humanity. On one level, this is a film about a family and their search for an elusive caterpillar fungus; but in a deeper way it is about connection, friendship, and goodwill.

​

We need more of these in today's world.