Private Project

Body Talk

Is this my body? Who am I? As the carrier of spirit and will, how does a woman’s body struggle, jostle, collide, and merge with all things other than themselves. The body seems to follow the mind as merely its shell or tool. However the body does possess memory. A tired body, an injured body, a sick body, a fat body, a visible or invisible body, a body nourishing life or a decaying and aging body... Have you looked at your own body carefully? Everything about you is buried amongst the hair, deep in your skin, down in your viscera and bowels, or within those millions of nerves. No matter whether you have forgotten about them, your body still remembers. In this film we have interviewed up to thirty women, and all the interview clips interspersed throughout the film recessively discuss the “birth, aging and illnesses” of the body during the course of life. Through their talks, we are led
into the diverse female body experience. It is akin to secretive women’s talk emitting a feminine and flowing tone.

  • Singing CHEN
    Director
  • Singing CHEN
    Producer
  • Jessie SHIH
    Executive Producer
  • WANG Pai-Zhang
    Commissioning Editor
  • LIAO Ching Yao
    Cinematographer
  • Singing CHEN
    Cinematographer
  • Singing CHEN
    Editor
  • LIAO Ching Yao
    Editor
  • Hsiao-Tung CHEN
    Editor
  • ZHOU Zhen
    Sound Designer
  • HSU Wen
    Original Music
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Social Issue, Female
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 20 minutes 3 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 8, 2018
  • Country of Origin:
    Taiwan
  • Language:
    Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • International Woman's Film Festival (SIWFF)
    Seoul
    Korea, Republic of
    2018
  • 2018 Taipei Film Festival
    Taipei
    Taiwan
    2018
    FORWARD TAIWAN
Distribution Information
  • Taiwan Public Television Service Foundation
    Country: Taiwan
Director Biography - Singing CHEN

Singing CHEN is a film director, screenwriter, film editor, and composer. Her works are known for being highly stylized with focuses on issues in art and culture. In 2000 her first 16mm feature film BUNDLED received numerous awards at both domestic and international film festivals including Best Drama and Best New Director at Taipei Film festival, Ecumenical Jury Award and ACAT Human Rights Special Award at Fribourg Film Festival. In 2007, GOD MAN DOG was selected in The Forum at the Berlin International Film Festival, and was invited to screen in more than 30 film festivals. In 2014, THE WALHERS was nominated Best Documentary by the Golden Horse Film Festival and Taiwan International Documentary Festival.

-2015 Short Documentary: “Ways into Love” (segment “A Real Meal”)
-2014 Documentary “The Walkers”
-2014 Documentary “Mountain Spirits”
-2014 Short Film: “Taipei Factory 1” (segment “The Pig”)
-2012 Short film: “When Yesterday Comes” (segment “The Clock”)
-2007 35mm Feature Film “God Man Dog”
-2000 16mm Feature Film “Bundled”
-2000 35mm Short Documentary: “Floating Islands” (segment “Who’s fishing?”)

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Director Statement

“Is this my body?” “Am I a woman?” “Who am I?” BODY TALK sets off from these three essential questions and gradually takes form. Throughout our lives, we search for our true selves despite the turmoil from the outside world; in search of an answer to the question "How did I become my present self?” Through this film, by examining the state of the body, I also attempt to see whether I can step into their latent behaviors and reach their hearts. This film does not try to offer any answers. The opening animation starts with a woman looking at the changes in her body; then she arises, goes down a path, and disappears into a chasm. The body, the journey, the chasm and what lies behind the chasm... each and every woman has her own version of this. BODY TALK is hoping to use the body as a medium for description and communication, to draw forth some questions and record the overall process of this search. Moreover, during the shooting, we discovered that when talking about their bodies, the interviewees appear to be still shy and awkward. Therefore, I think there is still much more to talk about and to listen to.