Mrs. Islets

On Huayu, a remote island west of Penghu, daily life follows tides and seasons. While men fish offshore, women labour along the shore and at home. Observing a veteran forager and a shopkeeper, the film offers an intimate portrait of women’s resilience and labour within a male-dominated fishing community.

Chen Wei-cih: ‘I believe the greatest challenge in documentary filmmaking is not “providing answers”, but “living the answers” — it is a persistent practice of imagining the future.From stepping onto a remote island of fewer than a hundred people to serving as a teacher in a five-student school, and from investigating vanishing fishing methods to leading local workshops, my work centres on documentary yet refuses to be confined by its frameworks. I seek to coexist with the moving image, becoming a co-recorder alongside the community. To me, creation encompasses one’s attitude toward life and the profound bonds between people.Instead of chasing issues, I choose to let stories flow naturally. My wish is to remain forever within the field, living the very stories I tell.’