Since 2007, I have been learning Mandarin Chinese, and started working on various projects that involved collaboration with Asia – mostly China.
I am currently developing The Marco Polo Project, a web platform to crowdsource translations of influential contemporary Chinese texts into European languages.
In April -May 2011, I was part of the Vic-Asia-Unit project team – an initiative to grow Asian literacy in Victoria, and coordinate government activities in that sphere. Our project won the popular vote for the 2011 Victorian Public Service Innovation Challenge.
In July and August 2011, I worked at Alliance Francaise in Tianjin. During this time, I published a blog about cosmopolitan China – The Fake China. This was a great occasion to experience life in China, and see what Chinese students are like in a classroom. Beautiful months.
In 2012, I will be attending the Asialink Asia Leaders Program, and hopefully understand more about the relationships between Australia and Asia.
My film-work has a strong focus on understanding the Asian presence in Australia. My first short film Honey Pot featured an Asian character, and was particularly well received at the Mumbai Queer Film Festival 2011. It has since been released on youtube, where it attracted over 100,000 views in three months, with surprising success in India, Indonesia and, strangest of all, Saudi Arabia.
