Hu Tai-li (1950-2022), was a distinguished figure in Taiwanese ethnographic visual representation. As a researcher and director at the Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica, she played a vital role in various projects. Advocating for the Taiwan Association of Visual Ethnography, she chaired it for two terms, founding the Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival. Her acclaimed documentaries, using a multisensory approach, critically examined ethnography and power dynamics. Addressing rural communities, Mainlander veterans, and indigenous tribes, her work delved into everyday life, culture, gender, and ethnic identity amidst temporal changes.
Songs of Pasta'ay
Songs of Pasta'ay
Songs of Pasta'ay
Synopsis
This film focuses on the 'Pasta'ay', a biennial ritual in the Saisiat people, highlighting the 1986 Great Ritual. It explores the Saisiat people's belief in legendary beings, their ambivalence toward tourism, and the clash between tradition and modernisation. Organised by Pasta'ay songs, the film depicts the dichotomy between 'the real' and 'the artificial.'
'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 was to capture Sai-hsia people's emotions and expressions and leave the audience more space for imagination.' * - HU Tai-li
(*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.)
Festivals & Awards
1990 RAI Film Festival
1990 Gold Special Jury Award, Houston IFF
Director's Profile
HU Tai-li
Filmography
1984 The Return of Gods and Ancestors: Paiwan Five Year Ceremony
1988 Songs of Pasta'ay
1993 Voices of Orchid Island
1997 Passing through My Mother-in-law's Village
2000 Sounds of Love and Sorrow
2003 Encountering Jean Rouch
2004 Stone Dream
2006 After Passing
2012 Returning Soul
2020 Dear Masks
LEE Daw-ming
Lee Daw-ming is currently an Associate Professor at Taipei National University of the Arts. His body of work comprises 12 films and approximately 150 TV episodes and video programs spanning fiction, animation, and documentaries. Notable among his films are Beyond the Killing Fields: Refugees on the Thai-Cambodian Border (1986), Songs of Pasta'ay (1988), Voice of the People (1991), Tsuenu, the Way (2001), The Last Chieftain (1999), and Shattered Dreams (2003).
Filmography
1982 Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone?
1982 In the Beginning
1983 Ayako and Joe
1984 Growing up in the Promised Land
1984 《先生離家時》
1986 Beyond the Killing Fields: Refugees on the Thai-Cambodian Border
1988 The Suona Player
1988 Songs of Pasta'ay
1990 Beyond the Anti-Du Pont Movement：Portraits of Some Social Activists
1991 Voice of the People
1993 Austronesian People of Taiwan
1994 Sakuliu
1994 Yong Yuan De Bu Luo Zhi Yun Bao Min Zu De Gu Xiang
1995 《中國人的天文觀念與水運儀象臺》
1997 《小陶壺森林奇遇記》
1997 《尋根溯源話南島》
1997 《臺灣史前文化尋根之旅》
1997 Songs of the Mountain, Dances of the Ocean: Music and Dance of the Indigenous People of Taiwan
1999 The Last Chieftain
1999 Tamsui River
2000 「人民的聲音」系列
2000 《臺灣原住民從那裡來？》
2001 Tsuenu, the Way
2001 《亞洲放逐：拿生命搏一個未來》
2002 Rebuilding the Kubab Tufuya
2002 Rebuilding the Kuba : Tapangu
2002 《文化南島之旅：臺灣原住民的文化與藝術》
2003 Shattered Dreams
Credit
Cinematographer｜CHANG Chao-tang
Sound｜LEE Daw-ming, JIANG Guan-ming
Editor｜LEE Daw-ming, HU Tai-li
Print Source
Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica｜ipttdir@gate.sinica.edu.tw