Taiwan Docs

In the filming of Songs of the Pasta'ay,  I was obsessed with the rhymes, unique verbal expression, refrains and the cadence of the ritual songs. I was trying to see of it is possible to integrate the songs into images. I therefore used the movements of the songs to structure the film. The film attempts to reveal the ambivalent bonding between Sai-hsia people and short people, as well as the relationship between Sai-hsia and tourists and government officials. As you will see, the ritual is a means by which Sai-hsia unites the tribe and resolves their internal conflicts. The convention of authoritative narration, however, is abandoned, so the audience can have their own interpretation. In fact, the significance of the Pasta'ay cannot yet be fully grasped and my exploration is just a beginning. My perspective will probably be changed if more research is done. All I wanted is to capture Sai-hsia people's emotions and expressions, and leave to the audience more space for imagination.

(Excerpt from the article "The Projection of Ethnographical Film: Visual Anthropology in Taiwan" by Hu, in The Review of Ethnography, Academia Sinica. Vol. 71, 1991).