The Spirit Keepers of Makuta’ay

Yen-Chao Lin travelled along the east coast of Taiwan – an area characterized by its wild nature, colonization and population exodus. The Amis is the largest of many ethnic minorities in Taiwan officially recognised as indigenous peoples. In search of different spiritual practices belonging to the indigenous people of Makuta’ay, Yen-Chao Lin places the memories of the old Amis spirit keepers on an equal footing with the practices of Daoist rituals and Presbyterian burials, allowing personal prayers to resound and collective resistance to emerge. The Spirit Keepers of Makuta’ay was shot on Super 8 film and developed by the director by hand. The effects created during the development process add an additional layer of spiritual interpretation. A miniature, an essay, an impressionistic painting.
by Yen-Chao Lin Canada 2019 Amis, Mandarin 11’ Colour World premiere | Documentary form

Crew

Written and Directed by Yen-Chao Lin
Cinematography Yen-Chao Lin
Editing Yen-Chao Lin
Music Oliver Lewis
Sound Design Oliver Lewis
Producers Yen-Chao Lin, Oliver Lewis

Produced by

Mirror Play

Yen-Chao Lin

Born in Taiwan in 1983, she lives and works in Montreal, Canada. Through intuitive play and experimentation, her visual artworks and films often explore different forms of divination arts and traditional tales, particularly via the angle of folk religion and oral history.

Filmography

2019 The Spirit Keepers of Makuta’ay

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2019