Ling brings over sixteen years of filmmaking experience to her teaching. This filmmaking experience is wide-ranging – including her work as a self-shooting camera person and as a feature-length Editor and Director.

The locations and situations she has worked in have taught her to be adaptable – whether that means working in high-risk environments or collaborating with sensitive, fragile subjects. This explorative spirit is manifested in her teaching; her students are encouraged to experiment with the documentary form and to challenge their visual approach in order to maximise their storytelling abilities. She celebrates each student’s individual voice and works with them to unveil their hidden potential.

Her natural ability to communicate and connect with others means that she frequently collaborates with international filmmakers, mentors others, participates in jury awards, and is invited to give public talks. In addition to her role at the Edinburgh College of Art, Ling has taught at the National Film & Television School and the Scottish Documentary Institute.

Ling’s practice-based research is focused on documentary filmmaking and the exploratory use of inter-related cinematic tools for narrative and emotional communication – such as visual language, sound design, and music. Guiding this process is the aim to connect with the audience in order to facilitate wider outreach and impact.

This line of creative inquiry was at the centre of her most recent film Surviving Translation (2023) which focuses on the mistranslation of women who have lived through traumatic experiences such as gender-based violence in their home countries or during their difficult journeys to the UK. Unable to be truly heard or understood, these women find themselves without a voice or even an identity. The film aims to give some of these individuals a voice and reveal the human beings who are caught up in these events. The film is currently travelling internationally and nationally in order to encourage discussions and achieve impact. It has already been picked up by public sector organisations and charities with the aim of promoting change. 
 
More broadly, Ling’s interest is in crossover cultures, our constantly changing environment, and the individuals who find themselves within it. Her ability to connect with individuals and uncover their desires and inner-conflicts allows her to explore their stories. And regardless of constraints, Ling's priority is always to capture these stories and identify the cinematic language that can convey them to the audience – thereby facilitating the impact that motivates her initial enquiry.