Thinking about how prologues can function differently.
The Qilin
David Lalé, Sam Hopkins 2019, UK/Germany
genre: poetic, testimonial
Prologues are common in documentary structure now, particularly if they are aimed toward television broadcast. Typically, the material before the title credits either condenses key moments to follow (as a teaser of sorts) or uses a later moment in the chronology as an in media res beginning.
But that’s not the only option, and The Qilin has a notable example of a less literal prologue. Alongside animation, a voiceover describes a mythic legend of the Qilin, a gift of a giraffe brought by Chinese traders back from East Africa.
The remainder of the documentary is a present day, poetic documentary of the port Guangzhou, combined with voiceover and interview testimony of Africans living in China, describing their experience.
The prologue sets up something more metaphorical in relation to the film’s subject: it suggests a long-standing transnational history of trade, but also contrasts in its fancifulness with the mixed experience of real transnational Africans. It also introduces a formal trope of animation, which the film will use to hide the identity of those Africans depicted onscreen.
Additionally, animation returns in some shots illustrating anecdotes in their lives.
In all, I responded to the concision of the piece and the adaption of animation to its form.