Taiwan Docs

In the 1970s, the cities of Taiwan were like Medusa; first seduced people, paralyzed them, then petrified them, and finally let them die silently. The Amis people, who live by the water, were the group of laborers moving from the countrysides to the edge of the city. It was the time when Jimmy Chang's father and his clan lived together on the riverbanks of the Xindian River, forming the Cinemnemay "Xizhou tribe". The Amis, an ancient ethnic people, built the city but were driven away by the city. The Amis believes that "when sits on the shore at the low tide, people wait patiently and God will give them a rich harvest”. Now they will move out of their old tribe and into a new government-cooperated home. But why are they moving? No one asked. In documenting this journey towards the unknown, I have seen people building new houses brick by brick with great joy, but I have also seen old people returning to their homeland and living alone since then. If they are not the owners of this land, then who are the true owner? Is it the Japanese regime that once occupying Taiwan? Or is it the Nationalist government that has retreated to Taiwan? Indigenous people drifting from the homeland to the cities, during these periods of time, have they changed or have they yet to change? or have they become greedy after gaining a place in the city? Are they craving for more? Or did they get nothing in return after all? The Amis have a spirit and a dignity, a reverence and a respect for nature, that perhaps cannot be compared to the city people on the other side of the river, with their luxurious skyscrapers. The Amis could assit each other without any outer decoration, because that kind of will is what we call "home”.