Taiwan Docs

Taiwan lies around 90km off the southeast coast of China. With much of the island covered by high mountains, most of the 23 million inhabitants live on the scarcer lowland and plain areas. Nevertheless, Taiwan is self-sufficient in many agricultural products, including the staple, rice. This remarkable achievement is a credit to the island’s industrious, dedicated rice farmers.

This documentary film, Let It Be, records the everyday labor and lives of three elderly rice farmers in Houbi Township, in the heart of Taiwan’s rice-producing country. It depicts their lifestyles that have changed little over the last half-century, and how they must toil and shed a bead of sweat for each grain they produce. It observes their toils and their approach to life, enabling viewers to appreciate the wisdom that imbues their lives, and the fascinating dynamics of their relationships with each other, their animals, gods, the weather, and the land.