The Development of “Indigenous People Ethnographic Films” in Early 21st Century Taiwan

• In Event: New Visions of Ethnographic Films from Asia

Abstract

This paper uses the term “indigenous people ethnographic films” to discuss indigenous-themed documentaries made by directors of both indigenous and non-indigenous descent. To mark the advent of the twenty-first century, the Taiwan Association of Visual Ethnography initiated the Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival in 2001. This festival takes place biennially in theaters in Taipei City. From the first (2001) to the eighth (2015) Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival, two hundred and eighty-three films were screened, local and foreign, fifty-one of which were based on Taiwanese indigenous people. In this paper, the author will discuss some representative “Taiwan indigenous people ethnographic films” screened in the Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival to reflect the main concerns and new trends of Taiwan indigenous people ethnographic films early in this century.

Author

• Tai-Li Hu, Academia Sinica