BISFF Correspondence 通信计划
为了跨越种种障碍，开辟更多交流空间，我们设置了“BISFF Correspondence 通信计划”，对部分国际单元的参展作者进行系列访谈，这些访谈将在作品放映后发布在联展各个媒体平台。
This program involves conducting brief email interviews with the directors of the international films featured in the festival, in lieu of the traditional Q&A session that follows the screenings. Through this program, we hope to provide a platform for filmmakers to discuss their work and share their insights with our audience in China.
Semiotics of the Home｜家庭符号学
Hsin-Yu Chen, Jessi Ali Lin
USA｜No Dialogue ｜0:07:55｜2023
Q&A
Director导演:Hsin-Yu Chen, Jessi Ali Lin
Interviewer&translator邮件采访、翻译：黄越
Q1 : Why was it filmed in an abandoned dump? Can it be understood as a rebellionagainst “home” in a general sense?
为什么取景在废弃垃圾场？是否可以理解为对于一般性意义上“家”的反叛？
A1 : The work was filmed at an industrial waste recycling center in Philadelphia, which takes in a lot of demolition and construction materials. We were interested in the recycling center as a site that reflected the quickly gentrifying landscape of the city. Developers come in, demolish the site, and build modular apartments as efficiently as possible. Large industrial machines are integral to the laboring process, whether for tearing down old houses or attaching wall pieces to building facades. The contrast between the notion of an intimate home and its industrial process became a driving force for the work. We also wonder if the notion of warmth is only a blanket to mask the reality that these modular structures are places to house our ever laboring bodies.
这部作品拍摄于费城的一个工业废品回收中心。该回收中心有大量的拆建材料。我们对这个类似于“遗址”的回收中心很感兴趣，因为它反映了城市快速中产阶级化的景观。开发商进来，拆除工地，尽可能高效地建造模块化公寓。无论是拆除老房子还是将壁板固定在建筑外墙上，大型工业机械都是劳动过程中不可或缺的一部分。个人化亲密的家庭概念与工业进程之间的反差成为了该作品的驱动力。此外我们还想探究，温暖的概念是否只是掩盖事实的毯子？或许这些模块化的结构才是我们永恒劳动着的身体的归宿？
Q2 : Construction machines were cast as actors in the film, completing daily tasks such as cooking, cleaning, eating, and resting. However, the behavior of the large machinery does not give the audience a strong sense of separation. In what ways are inanimate machines endowed with tender emotional overtones? Is there a unique symbolic meaning behind this setting?
短片中，建筑机械扮演演员完成烹饪、清洁、吃饭、休息等日常任务，但大型机械的行为活动并没有给观众以强烈的割裂感。无生命的机械以何种方式被赋予了温柔的情感色彩？这种设置的背后有其独特的符号意义吗？
A2 : Interested in these machines as an integral part of the home building process, we thought it would be subversive to cast them as inhabitants of the homes they’ve built. This role reversal at once hints to the endless nature of labor, extending it to the home which should be a resting place. The absurdity of industrial machines performing delicate gestures highlight the nature of labor behind both house building and homemaking.
这些机器是房屋建筑过程中不可或缺的一部分，我们认为将它们塑造成它们自身所建造的房屋居民将是颠覆性的。角色的互换同时暗示了劳动无休止的本质，并将其延申到本应是休息场所的家庭。工业机器做出柔和手势的荒谬性凸显了房屋建造和管理家庭事务背后的劳动本质。
Q3 : At the end of the film, the construction machinery swings from top to bottom and from left to right. This action lasted for almost a minute, but no clear subtitle was given. What does it refer to? Why did you choose it as a wrap-up to your action collection?
影片结尾，建筑机械大幅度进行由上至下、从左到右的摆动。这一动作持续了将近一分钟，但未给出明确的字幕提示。它指涉什么？为什么选择将它作为动作集合的收束？
A3 : The work titled “Semiotics of the Home'' hints at Martha Rosler’s “Semiotics of the Kitchen'' where Rosler goes through kitchen tools in an alphabetic order. Similar to Rosler, where she violently draws in the air with her hands the last alphabets, we were interested in how this would come across with a large machine body. Since the machine is big, we couldn’t draw “X, Y, Z” quickly. The speed and weight reflected on the limitation of the machine body, which responded well with the general theme of the work.
这部名为《家庭符号学》的作品影射了玛莎·罗斯勒（Martha Rosler）的《厨房符号学》。在《厨房符号学》中，Rosler按照字母顺序介绍厨房工具。类比Rosler用手猛烈地在空中画出最后的字母，我们设想将这一动作运用在一个大型的机器上来说会是怎样的呢？但因为机器过于庞大，我们无法快速绘制“X、Y、Z”。速度和重量反映了机身的局限性，这与作品的总体主题相呼应。
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