Taiwan Docs

In the 1920s, an indigenous Kavalan family took refuge in Hualien, Taiwan. 70 years later, the filmmaker, a third-generation member of the family, embarked on a self-searching journey to recover his lost identity. Through a multi-angled depiction of traditional Kavalan ceremonies and collective memories, the film asks us to recognise the place of Pingpu peoples (indigenous peoples who used to live in the western and northeastern plains of Taiwan prior to the mass arrival of Han immigrants) in Taiwanese history, as well as their suffering and feelings of inferiority throughout decades of forced migration from the Yilan Plain. This film is praised for being the first documentary directed, produced, and publicly screened by a Pingpu descendant; it also acted as a catalyst for the revitalisation movement of the Kavalan people, who were officially recognised as the 11th ethnic group in Taiwan in 2002.