‘Finding Yingying’: A family’s search for a missing daughter in a foreign land
The disappearance of Zhang Yingying is the subject of Finding Yingying, a documentary by director Jenny Shi. It chronicles two years in the life of Yingying’s family, from their efforts to find her in the summer of 2017, to the 2019 trial of her abductor and murderer.
On June 9, 2017, 26-year-old Zhāng Yíngyǐng 章莹颖 was set to sign a lease for a new apartment. Yingying, a visiting scholar at the University of Illinois, had been in the United States for just six weeks. She was an excellent student, and hoped to become a professor. At the time, Yingying was studying the effects of climate change on crops, and although she felt lonely, was enjoying life in a new, unfamiliar country.
On 1:30 pm that day, Yingying texted the apartment rental manager that she would be over at 2:10. After riding one bus, she was supposed to catch another, but missed it. While she waited at the bus stop, a driver in a black Saturn Astra pulled up to Yingying and offered her a ride. The university’s security cameras captured footage of Yingying getting into the car; it would be the last anyone saw of her, as the young scholar was never seen again.
The disappearance of Zhang Yingying is the subject of Finding Yingying, a documentary by director Jiāyán “Jenny” Shī 施佳妍. It chronicles two years in the life of Yingying’s family, from their efforts to find her in the summer of 2017, to the 2019 trial of her abductor and murderer. Jenny was a volunteer in the search efforts, drawn to the case from her own similarities with Yingying. Her film, consequently, is more personal than most true crime documentaries, as she records and narrates the ordeal of Yingying’s loved ones: her parents Lifeng and Ronggao, her brother Yangyang, her aunt Liqin, and fiance Xiaolin.
In the beginning of the film, Xiaolin flies to the United States with Yingying’s father and aunt, determined to find Yingying. Neither Liqin nor Ronggao speak English, so Jenny serves as their guide. They have a feeling that Yingying is okay. As they walk to Yingying’s apartment, Liqin remarks, “I believe if she were dead, she would visit me in my dreams. But she never comes to my dreams. Never.” Hopeful at large, the community marches and holds a vigil for Yingying, students distribute posters, and cops devote their off-days to searching. When the authorities realize that Yingying was kidnapped, the FBI comes into the investigation, and billboards with Yingying’s picture are placed in several cities in the Midwest.
Eventually, law enforcement officials come across a suspect: Brendt Christensen, a former Ph.D. student at the University of Illinois. Christensen is taken into custody, but he refuses to give easy answers. Yingying’s family is left in the dark, unsure about her whereabouts, or whether she’s still alive. After Christensen’s arraignment in July, the family retursn to China, forced to wait for the trial. Life, especially for Yingying’s mother Lifeng, is difficult. The uncertainty causes tension and frustration. There’s also a cultural clash with the American legal system, which Ronggao believes places victims at a disadvantage.
The scope of Finding Yingying is large, traveling between China and the United States to ponder grief, justice, and hope. There are interviews with colleagues, police officers, and lawyers, and with more unexpected subjects, such as Christensen’s ex-girlfriend. Along with these talking-head interviews and the director’s original footage, the film draws on old photos, surveillance footage, and news broadcasts. We check out the Zhangs’ hometown, the field where Yingying conducted her research, the campus where she met and fell in love with Xiaolin. Throughout the film, Jenny also reads excerpts from Yingying’s diary. They record her thoughts, her day-to-day experiences, her dreams for the future. Listening to them, it feels as though Yingying is our own friend, or daughter, or co-worker.
Finding Yingying is a compassionate and powerful true crime documentary. Its emphasis on the personal, on the actual people involved rather than the mystery itself, elevates Finding Yingying over the usual crime story. It’s heartbreaking to see Yingying’s loved ones as they come to terms with this tragedy. We get a real sense of who Yingying was, and how much she meant to the people in her life. While it’s never excessive or exploitative, the film’s rawness can make it difficult to watch. But the resolve of its subjects, in a way, adds a sense of inspiration to an otherwise dark event.
You can find a list of virtual screenings for“Finding Yingying” on its website here. On December 1, the Serica Initiative will also host a virtual screening of the film with a fireside chat.
