Sayun Simung is a Tayal filmmaker from the Sqoyaw community in Taiwan. She studied Radio and Television at the National Taiwan University of Arts and began her career at Taiwan Indigenous Television, later working in documentary production at Public Television Service. In 2022, she founded the Indigenous Film Academy of Taiwan, the first of its kind in Taiwan. She is currently pursuing an MFA in film in the United States.
SPI
SPI
SPI
Following a Tayal family after the death of their grandfather, the film observes emotional and spiritual disarray shaped by estrangement from Gaga, their ancestral ethics. As modern life collides with inherited memory, the family confronts cultural rupture and loss. Through intimate proximity, the film searches for ways to carry Tayal spirit forward and return home.
Sayun Simung: ‘I spent ten years making this documentary, filming my own family while tracing the presence of Gaga, the Tayal ethical system shaped by ancestral knowledge. My grandfather passed away before I could learn from him directly, leaving gaps that led me back to my family and elders, toward what had remained unspoken.Though intangible, Gaga continues to structure our lives. Throughout the process, doubt accompanied me, yet the film grew alongside my understanding. SPI became not only a record of family memory, but a way to reconnect with Tayal identity. I’m glad I didn’t give up on completing the film. Now it opens a space for intergenerational voices and shared remembrance to reach the world.’

