Ballet in Tandem 舞徑

Documentary (143’)  |  directed by YANG Wei-hsin 楊偉新 |  Taiwan, 2022

STORYline

Ballet in Tandem is a feature-length documentary exploring the state of ballet in Taiwan. As we follow the interwoven journeys of the three Taiwanese dancers who have dedicated themselves to the art form, their joys and pathos, successes and failures, dreams and disillusions will compel the viewers to challenge their collective assumptions about ballet and rethink the relationship between "culture" and "body" with a more open attitude.

Shot over nine years, the documentary embodies the grace and discipline of the art form it explores, while providing a rare glimpse into the ever-struggling local scene. Director YANG Wei-hsin carefully depicts the stories of three Taiwanese dancers, each from a different generation, into a compelling and detailed narrative that explores Taiwan’s history of ballet as well as the passion, determination and tribulations of those who aspire to a professional career.

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS

2022 — American Documentary and Animation Film Festival (AmDocs), Best International Feature Jury Award – Winner

2022 — California Capital International Documentary Film Festival

2022 — EBS International Documentary Film Festival

→ Ballet in Tandem official page

Green Jail 綠色牢籠

Documentary (101’)  |  directed by Yin-Yu Huang 黃胤毓 |  Taiwan/Japan/France, 2021

STORYline

The film follows the last 4 years life of Grandma Hashima, the last existent from colonial Taiwan, who knows the secrets of "Green Jail," the notorious coal mine before World War II in Okinawa, Japan.

There remains only silence in the "Green Jail," the once upon a time large-scale mining village located on Iriomote Island, Okinawa, Japan. Before World War II, under Greater East Asia Imperialism, "Green Jail" imprisoned thousands of miners. These miners were from Kyushu, and other places of Japan, as well as Japanese colonies: Taiwan and Korea. The miners who were forced to work there, many of whom also contracted and died from malaria. As for the "Taiwanese miners," the morphine injection was prevalent so that they could work nonstop day and night. Grandma Hashima, now 92 years old, is the adopted daughter of the Taiwanese head miner, Yang Tien-fu. With hardly any visitors, grandma lives alone in an old and shaggy wooden house by the "jail on the sea" where her family once lived, she recounts her experience of the coal mine days on the island. What happened in the coal mine? Grandma's adoptive father, who recruited hundreds of Taiwanese miners to "Green Jail," knowing or not they could never return home - Was he an oppressor or the oppressed victim of Japanese Imperialism? Through her memories of guilt, pain, anger, and the miseries of the past 80 years, this film also portrays the last years of Grandma Hashima's life.

The Bad Man 惡人之煞

Documentary (76’)  |  directed by Lee Yong-chao 李永超 |  Taiwan, 2021

STORYline

Ongoing for over 70 years, Myanmar has the world’s longest-running civil war. The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) is the ethnic rebel group most vehemently opposed to the ruling military junta. The protagonist of The Bad Man was conscripted into the KIA as a child, transforming him from an innocent kid into a ruthless man who talks about killing without hesitation. 

Festivals and awards

2021 Locarno Film Festival - Semaine de la critique

2021 DMZ International Documentary Film Festival - Global Vision

2022 Taiwan International Documentary Festival - Taiwan Competition

Sacred Forest 神殿

Documentary (60’)  |  directed by Ke Jin-yuan 柯金源  |  Taiwan, 2019

 The Story

如果一個生命存活了上千年，通常會被讚譽為「神」。那麼，身處在四周都是上千年的巨木群中，就是進入活靈、活現的「神殿」。人，理當感受得到天地神聖靈性？

台灣的森林生態系特色，從海岸水域到四千公尺的高山環境中，分布著四千四百多種原生維管束植物，部分種類是兩億年前的冰河孑遺植物，有些物種更深具聯合國「世界自然遺產」的價值。例如，「紅檜」、「扁柏」、「台灣杉」、「玉山圓柏」，皆是台灣特有珍貴古老樹種，更受到國內外植物生態學界的重視。

《神殿》紀錄片以獨特觀點，詮釋古老森林美學、生態哲學內涵。影片中植物學家陳玉峰教授用敬畏、讚嘆的視野，演繹植物演化史，以及森林生態系的多樣性與功能，同時以環境倫理的觀點，講述台灣霧林生態系統的奧妙；也映照出人類與山林水土環境的互動關係。

Quan Ma He 荃蔴河

Documentary (26’)  |  directed by Lee Yong-chao 李永超 | Taiwan/Myanmar, 2018

THE STORY

In a village on the Quan Ma River in Upper Burma, Old Hong and Lady Hong prepare to welcome their first child into the world. This urges Old Hong to think about the future. He ponders whether he should continue in his father’s footsteps as a goat herder or take his new family relocate from the Quan Ma River.

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS

2018 — Taipei Film Festival, Taipei, Taiwan

2019 — Odense International Film Festival, Odense, Denmark — International Documentary Short Films Competition

2019 — DMZ International Documentary Festival, Goyang & Paju, Korea — Short Competition

Blood Amber 血琥珀

Documentary (100’)  |  directed by Lee Yong-chao 李永超 |  Taiwan/Myanmar, 2017

THE STORY

EN Somewhere in Myanmar is a forest rich in amber and controlled by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). Most of its inhabitants work in a mine, digging the earth night and days in the hope of finding the precious ore that will get them out of poverty. But on top of the excruciating hardship of the work, they also have to fear an attack from the army.

FR Quelque part au Myanmar se trouve une forêt riche en ambre contrôlée par l’Armée pour l’indépendance Kachin. La plupart de ses habitants travaillent dans une mine, creusant la terre jour et nuit dans l’espoir de trouver la précieuse résine qui les sortira de la misère; mais plus que la pénibilité du travail, ils craignent les attaques de l’armée.

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS

2018 — Hong Kong Asian Film Festival, Hong Kong

2018 — Screening the Forest, Singapore

2018 — 11th Taiwan International Film Festival, Taipei, Taiwan, National Competition

2017 — 12th Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, showcased in Taiwan Docs

2017 — Busan International Film Festival, Busan, South Korea, showcased in Wide Angle

2017 — Locarno International Film Festival, Locarno, Switzerland, selected in Semaine de la critique, International Competition