Shonenko

Shonenko documents 8,419 Taiwanese teenagers mobilised to Japan to manufacture military aircraft during the Second World War. Drawn by promises of education, they were later caught amid post-war politics and shifting regimes in Taiwan, Japan, and China. The film brings into focus quiet endurance, fractured belonging, and personal histories long left untold.

Kuo Liang-yin: 'Twenty years have passed since the premiere of Shonenko. I once thought the film was about "parting", but now I feel it is about "encounters". People meet again through the search and re-presentation of archives, old photographs and historical footage, and through exchanges between the former Shonenko [naval child labourers], the filmmakers and the audience across borders, time and distance.

When the film was first made, it was still the era of dial-up internet — there were no digital archive databases, no Google Maps, no smartphones. We filmed on videotape, and hard drives were small and costly. I cherish all these "encounters".

Shonenko has never been an easy film to watch. For young audiences today it may be even more demanding, but I hope this can be understood as part of its value. I am glad to know Shonenko is once again meeting audiences in Taiwan after all these years. I also wish to take this opportunity to express my deepest respect to the former Taiwanese Shonenko.’