Sometimes, finding a reason to get outdoors can be hard, especially during the winter.
But Ching-Ping Yu and Rong-Qin Su want to remind people that there is a whole world to discover.
Yu and Su are a married couple with a passion for adventure filmmaking. The duo are the creative minds behind DioDio Studio in Canmore.
The couple has travelled across North and South America and Europe in their vegetable oil-powered van, finding stories to tell with their cameras.
Yu is the studio’s Producer and Director.
Her mission is to highlight diverse cultures, environmental awareness, and social justice through film.
Yu has a geophysics degree from the University of Alaska and is studying science and natural history with her husband at the National Film and Television School in London, England. In her free time, Yu enjoys skiing, volunteering at Girls On Ice Canada, and coding in Python.
Su is the Director, Cinematographer, and Editor for DioDio Studio and is committed to using his films to tell the stories of nature, culture, and humans.
His journey as a filmmaker has taken Su to the top of Mount Everest, from the rural Indigenous villages of Greenland and the Himalayas to Patagonia.
Su has travelled the world, but what he enjoys the most is travelling on the road with his wife and two kids.
Three Powerful Films
Yellow Rose country is home to incredible natural wonders.
Yu and Su highlight these beautiful places in their latest films, Find Me Outside, Old Mountain, and The Great Divide.
“I think for both of us, it all comes down to whether the story touches us first. As a filmmaker, I feel like we have a responsibility to make the world a little bit better,” Yu told the Rocky Mountain Outlook.
All three films were featured at the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival, which started on February 23.
However, the festival’s films, including DioDio Studio’s, will continue streaming online until March 24.
Find Me Outside premiered at the festival and is a documentary that follows four families from Alberta and British Columbia (BC) as they explore the great outdoors.
The film shows the families enjoying skiing in the Rockies, the Indian Horse Relay on the prairies, cold water surfing, and more.
One family includes Mina Jost and her daughter Anika from BC, who were filmed climbing together in Squamish.
As a fellow mother and climber, Yu viewed Mina as a “soul sister” and enjoyed talking to her about the difficulties of raising children in a world ruled by the internet and technology.
“I wanted to film all parts of kids playing outside. I want to inspire kids from different ethnicities…documentaries have this magical power to transform the public perception on a lot of social issues,” explained Yu.
DioDio Studio’s second featured film is about change, but not a change for the better.
As the climate continues to warm, our glaciers are at risk of extinction by 2100.
Their film, The Great Divide, follows “Adventure Dan” and his family from Canmore as they journey through the mountains to see the glaciers one last time.
“I think it’s now or never to do this trip…I am getting older, my kids’ lives are changing. The window of opportunity is closing,” said Dan, who spent two years planning the trip with his family.
Their final featured film is Old Mountain, which explores the life of 74-year-old Lorne Short and his canine companion Messy.
Even in old age, Short goes skiing with his dog.
A Story Waiting To Happen
DioDio Studio’s three feature films tell very different stories but prove that there is always an adventure, no matter your age or background.
If you pay attention, daily routines and nature offer much to discover.
It would be a crime not to explore the beauty that can be found in our province.
But the clock is ticking for some of our most awe-inspiring natural wonders in Alberta …and worldwide.
We must show the next generation–our kids–what we risk losing and what needs to be protected.
A story of towering mountains or crystal blue lakes is waiting to unfold.
You just need to take the first step.
Albertans know how to work hard, but we know how to play harder. So why not take a break from the grind and get outside?
Thanks to DioDio Studio for the reminder.
