“On the fifth day the sea tide rose…”: This line from an epic sung in Tafalong, an Amis village in Eastern Taiwan, is the point of departure from which we are led to explore the memories of several people originating from this village. Nakao and her cousin Ta-cheng go to the house of a great aunt in mourning over a cousin who had drowned in the ocean a few months before while preparing for Ilisin, traditionally the most solemn festival celebrated by Amis people. Old ladies are reliving songs and dances of their youth in the courtyard of the village’s Catholic Church; debates around names illustrate the ways traditions have been mixed and re-interpreted; Ta-cheng and Nakao’s grand-father sings Tafalong’s epic in a meeting that reconfirms the alliance between two families. The cemetery and the shore will be the scene of fugitive, improvised rituals.

Year of Production: 2008

Production: Taipei Ricci Institute; eRenlai.com

Filming and editing: Nicolas Priniotakis, Nakao Eki and Cerise Phiv

Based on an original idea by Nakao Eki and Benoit Vermander

Music : Foday Onglin

Duration: 50 min