Columbia University graduate Bu Xian, known as "Bubu," traded the bright lights of New York’s newsrooms for the untamed heart of Africa, embarking on a bold, self-funded documentary journey. Driven by curiosity and an unyielding spirit, she spent over a year capturing the untold stories of Chinese people living, working, and studying across the continent—painting an intimate, thought-provoking portrait of cultural exchange, resilience, and adventure.
Her five-episode documentary series, Bubu in Africa, offers a deeply personal lens into this vibrant, complex world. The first episode, "Home Is Where the Heart Finds Peace," confronts the stark realities of armed robberies, malaria, and HIV/AIDS, raising critical questions about safety while revealing the profound human connections that make a foreign land feel like home.
In 2017, Bubu was invited by a nonprofit to lead 17 Chinese students to Kenya and learn about female genital circumcision. She took the students into Maasai tribes to conduct interviews and helped them with writing assignments. The expedition allowed her to produce two additional episodes of the Award- Winning documentary series, “Bubu in Africa”. Realizing how she loved working with students, the idea of combining the two passions in her future projects emerged.
从哥大毕业后，步步进入纽约的华语电视当新闻 主播。然而，她并没有忘记最初的梦想。 两年后，她选择，去坦桑尼亚当记者。 在坦桑尼亚，步步看到大量中国人⻓期经历抢 劫、疟疾等⻛险，却还以此为家，深受触动，于 是拿起相机，采访拍摄中国人在非洲奋斗打拼的 故事，花超两年的时间，精心制作成5集纪录片 《步步走非洲》。 步步凭借该系列作品获得黑⻰江省新闻三等奖及 清华大学爱泼斯坦对外传播研究中心最佳中非发 展报道奖。 2017年，步步受邀作为导师重回非洲，带领17位中 国高中生，深入肯尼亚⻢赛原始部落，调研探索女性 割礼习俗的现状，辅导学生完成作品，并拍摄制作出 2集纪录片《步步走非洲——⻢赛人的割礼》。