Bullied at school and weighed down at home by his dad’s drinking, Yukan is eager to escape it all. When his best friend, Watan, invites him on a hike, a physically and emotionally bruised Yukan grabs his machete, and the two boys head into the woods. But this isn’t just any hike, or just any woods—as Yukan and Watan’s youthful overconfidence runs them up against the realities of nightfall in the dense and mountainous Tayal homelands, other forces begin to reveal themselves. Before they can find a way home, these two young Tayal men must first humble themselves enough to learn the lessons that the land itself has to offer.
TAYAL FOREST CLUB
Directed By 陳潔瑤 Laha Mebow
Taiwan | Narrative | 19 min
East Coast Premiere
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Substance abuse
Taiwanese (Atayal), Chinese (Mandarin)
English
East Coast Premiere
2024
19 minutes
Adventure, Coming-of-Age, Drama, Family
Narrative
Taiwan
陳潔瑤 Laha Mebow
The first Indigenous woman film director from Taiwan, Laha Mebow is best known for feature films focusing on the Indigenous Tayal community. With her 2022 feature, GAGA, Mebow was the first Taiwanese woman and the first Indigenous director to win the Golden Horse Award for best director. Her previous feature, Lokah Laqi!, won five awards at the 2016 Taipei Film Awards, including Best Narrative and the Grand Prize. Lokah Laqi! was Taiwan’s submission to the 2017 Academy Awards.
陳怡辰 Chen Yi Chen
Kavita Pillay
Tracy Rector
Adam Mazo
Taylor Hensel
陳潔瑤 Laha Mebow
梁元梅 Yayut Icyang
張祖鈞 Yukan Losing
陳宇 Buya Watan
呂春相 Kesi Silan
呂志強 LU
CHIH-CHIANG