Private Project

Millets Back Home

Yaki(Tayal language: means “grandmother”) Yabon is the eldest in the Sqoyaw Village, which is the farest and the highest place in Taichung City. The story starts from Yaki Yabon, who is sowing the millets with the memory, and then she recovers the traditional culture.

Three different families in the village weave a touching story, but pulling each other constantly with the social reality of “home” and “loss of the traditional culture”, which played out in real life.

As the eldest in the village, she never forgets the Tayal culture, and she always seeks someone who can learn from her and educate the next generation. When Yaki Yabon starts to sow the millets, she feels like watching the old days that remind her of the best of times in her life.

Another story is James’ family, and he always asks his son – Sulu, for help in the orchard when Sulu is off from school. Sometimes, James and Sulu are good friends; sometimes they are brothers. They are close, and their relationship is also great.

After Sulu graduates, he will leave home in the village for the city, and this is the first time for Sulu to live in the city. James is really worried about him. However, it is unpredictable for them to have a misunderstanding between them on the graduation day.

Hui-Juan’s father-in-law has taught her about the traditional wisdom in life since she married in the village. In order to preserve the traditional culture, she learns very hard and literally starts from zero. She always takes good care of the children, and she even feels anxious, but still considers the children’s future.

It seems that there is no any connection among the three families at all, but their lives, daily works, and the wishes are to be fulfilled. The traditional plant – “Millets,” reconnects their everyday lives through sowing, cooking, and brings them back to the kitchen table once again.

  • SAYUN SIMUNG
    Director
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    好久不見 德拉奇
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 11 minutes 56 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 30, 2013
  • Country of Origin:
    Taiwan
  • Country of Filming:
    Taiwan
  • Language:
    Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    HD
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Biindigaate Indigenous Film Festival
    Canada
    September 29, 2013
    North America
    Closing Film
  • 7th Native Spirit Film Festival
    London
    UK
    Selected
Director Biography - SAYUN SIMUNG

Born in 1982, as a Tayal person at Huanshan Tribe, Sayun is from Hoping village, Taichung County. She spent her childhood in the tribe and was nurtured by Tayal culture. However, her ethnic consciousness has not been raised until she became a journalist at the age of 23. She worked at Taiwan Indigenous Television and Era News. She interviewed, wrote news stories and produced features during that time. She also took charge of project planning for documentary and wrote columns for the indigenous youth magazine. Graduated from the Department of Radio and Television, National Taiwan University of Arts, Sayun pays close attention to the issues on aboriginal lives and land rights. She loves traveling and presenting these issues by integrating images and writings.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

This is a story about “Family”. I often ask myself: “When our generation of Native youth still eager to come to catch up with learning from the elderly people, they also lose themselves at the same time, do they?”
Due to this idea, I’ve become an "independent producer” since I came home, hoping that I could present the Tayal culture from the viewpoint of the family, which is impacted by the mainstream of society. The indigenous villages are a microcosm of the plight of traditional farming and culture in Taiwan.