Private Project

Ye-Zai

In Taiwan, there are more than 30,000 illegal immigrants who fled their country to come and earn money. As a result, the government launched an island-wide reward campaign for hunting illegal foreign workers and employers. Thus the bounty hunter for illegal immigrants was born. Ye-zai is the most outstanding hunter when it comes to illegal immigrant workers. He’s ruthless, cunning, greedy and has taken down countless illegals. Towards them, he has no mercy.

One day, his long-time estranged brother calls him to let him know that the foreign caregiver who cares for their father has been missing for two days. Ye-zai must find her within three days, or risk losing the position he’s established in his crew after years of hard work.

  • Ying-Ting Tseng
    Director
  • Ying-Ting Tseng
    Writer
  • Yuli Chen
    Writer
  • Shiang-Ling Lin
    Producer
  • Ming-Shuai Shih (Ye-Zai)
    Key Cast
  • Sajee Apiwong(Ganye )
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    椰仔/ มะพร้าว
  • Project Type:
    Feature, Student, Television
  • Genres:
    Drama, migrant worker
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 21 minutes 11 seconds
  • Country of Origin:
    Taiwan
  • Country of Filming:
    Taiwan
  • Language:
    Chinese, Thai
  • Shooting Format:
    DigiBeta
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
Director Biography - Ying-Ting Tseng

Director TSENG Ying-Ting is from Taichung, Taiwan. He obtained his MFA from the Motion Picture Department of National Taiwan University of Arts. His first feature film Ye-Zai has won the Excellent Screenplay Award and the Best Narrative Film at the Golden Harvest Awards. It was also nominated for Best Narrative Feature at Taipei Film Festival in 2013 and selected for the Asia-Pacific Film Festival. His other short films have also travelled the international festival circuit.

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Director Statement

Coconuts are the fruits of coconut trees, which is a very popular plant in the tropics. A coconut’s shell is hard and buoyent. It is one of the world’s largest fruits, and thus can travel across the waves in the sea and drift thousands of miles, away from its origin and still remain intact.

In the 1990’s Taiwan opened up its borders for blue-collar foreign workers. Across the region, many Southeast Asian immigrants came to Taiwan, creating an influx of people who came over and planted new roots on the island. It was under these vibrant circumstances and melting pot that the film “Ye-Zai” was created to tell this story.