時光台灣：1970-80s「芬芳寶島」系列精選

電視紀錄片「芬芳寶島」系列共約34集，皆以16mm膠卷拍攝，分為兩季在國營電視台──中視播映。首季於1975年開播，第二季則是1980年年底開始，被認為是台灣重要的「鄉土紀錄片」，有其重要的文史價值。

該系列作品在塵封多年後，由國家電影及視聽文化中心進行膠卷數位化及部分修復工作，讓這些珍貴影像得以重見天日。本次放映精選其中9部作品，聚焦在民俗文化、地方文史及人文風情，也包含庶民職業和原住民族的介紹，可從中看見當時主流社會的價值觀。

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【12th TIDF】時光台灣：1970-80s「芬芳寶島」系列精選——片頭曲

Legends of the Sun Moon Lake

Legend has it that the fish in the Sun Moon Lake was transformed from a white deer, and it’s why indigenous people started to eat fish. A large serpent living inside an ancient camphor tree was said to be the guardian of the lake. Also famous are the Buddhist relics of the monk Xuanzang enshrined in the eponymous Temple, and the over 400 peacocks kept in the local bird park... Here, intriguing folktales keep unfolding one after another.

When Mullet Come (Digital Restoration)

The grey mullet is known for its roe, a beloved delicacy in Taiwan. Every year around the winter solstice, schools of grey mullet migrate south to spawn. When the cold current hits Taiwan, so comes the grey mullet. In order to catch the precious ‘black gold’ at dawn, local fishermen set out in the thick mist and follow the mullet in the dark. This documentary focuses on the mullet industry and captures the 300-year-old tradition of mullet fishing.

Heroes with No Name: Coal Miners in Ruifang

Situated in the hills leading down to the coast, Ruifang used to pride itself on its coal mining industry. Every morning, miners from surrounding neighbourhoods gathered here to put on their gears and got into the minecarts, heading underground into pitch darkness. They worked non-stop in challenging conditions of high stress and high temperature, providing Taiwan with an indispensable source of energy. This documentary celebrates the miners’ contribution, but also stirred up controversy due to its inaccurate report of their wages.

Gold for the Gods

Zhonggang, a former commercial harbour in Miaoli County once suffering from sedimentation and decline, thrived again with its joss paper (ghost money) industry. Almost every family was part of it: Different generations worked together, attaching gold foils and stamping the paper in red ink, before sending it to dry. When massive stacks of golden joss paper basked in the sun, the town seemed to be covered in dreamy golden waves.

A Day at the Central Market (Digital Restoration)

When Taipei is still quiet and asleep, trucks after trucks emerge in the dark with fresh fruits and vegetables, seafood and meat. Intermediate wholesalers' auction chants rise and fall; the Central Market is getting ready to feed the city's population. The film offers a glimpse into the lively hustle and bustle of the Market in the 1970s, but was likely banned from broadcast due to its perceived display of the unhygienic conditions.

The Dragon Boat Festival

The riverbanks are dotted with food stalls and buzzing with the parasol-holding crowd. Everyone is here to watch the exciting dragon boat race. Voice-over narration in melodic Taiwanese describes pre-festival preparation, and the celebrations and rituals in various parts of Taiwan. Through carefully-crafted script and well-executed camerawork, this documentary gives a vibrant portrait of ordinary people’s lives in a festive atmosphere.

The Twilight of Tamsui (Digital Restoration)

A train rolled into Tamsui, a charming harbour town full of historical and cultural complexity. European-style architecture tells its colonial past, while Fujianese immigrants' influence stays present in local people's everyday life. Celebrated photographer and cinematographer CHANG Chao-tang captured Tamsui in the 1970s on film, creating a nostalgic yet melancholic concerto played by missionaries, fishermen, and tourists.

The Mysterious Lanyu

In the 1970s, the wave of modernisation hit the Orchid Island (Lanyu). Warship Rock, Double Lion Rock, Lover’s Cave, the wisely and artistically designed tatala (traditional fishing boat), along with the Tao people’s amazing fishing skills were well-known by the public through the growing tourism, yet the small island of Lanyu and Tao people’s indigenous ways of life still remained a ‘spectacle’. When the documentary film crew arrived with curiosity and good intentions, what stories would they tell together?

The Homecoming Pilgrimage of Dajia Mazu (Digital Restoration)

The first episode of Fragrant Formosa takes viewers through one of the most famous annual religious events in Taiwan. Believers used to spend eight days accompanying the sea goddess Mazu from Dajia (of Taichung City) to Beigang (of Yunlin County) on foot, before escorting her back to Dajia with rituals and celebrations. In this digitally restored version, the film is reunited with its original audio track in Taiwanese, which was banned on release due to the KMT government's Mandarin policy.

Reel Taiwan: Selected Films from Fragrant Formosa (1970s–80s)

Shot on 16mm film, the Taiwanese documentary television series Fragrant Formosa consists of 34 episodes; the first season was aired on Taiwan's China Television Company (CTV) in 1975, and the second season at the end of 1980. They are considered important Taiwanese ‘local documentaries’ for their historical and cultural values.

Thanks to the continued efforts of the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (TFAI), the series has re-emerged in digitised form after years of silence, with some of the episodes fully restored. In this programme, we select nine episodes featuring Taiwanese local traditions, folk cultures, indigenous communities, and common people’s occupations, offering the viewer a glimpse at the norms and values of Taiwanese mainstream society of a bygone era.