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Ocean Elergy - The Tragedies of Mudan and Ryukyu

“Mudan incident”, the 1871 massacre of 54 Ryukyuan shipwreck survivors by an Paiwan aboriginal tribe in southern Taiwan, led to the first overseas military operation of Japan since the Meiji Restoration, the “1874 Taiwan expedition”. The invasion shocked the Taiwanese aborigines and forced China to sign a treaty with Japan that was later exploited to justify the latter’s annexation of Ryukyu Kingdom in 1879; it further motivated China to establish a province in Taiwan (1884) and paved the way for Japanese occupation of the island in 1895.

These historical puzzles by cross-examining historical documents, expert testimonies, interviews with descendants and revisits of the historical sites.

  • HU. HAO-HSIANG
    Director
  • HU. HAO-HSIANG
    Writer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    海殤 - 牡丹與琉球悲歌
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    politics, culture, history
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 44 minutes 47 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 13, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    800,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Taiwan
  • Country of Filming:
    Taiwan
  • Language:
    Chinese, English, Japanese
  • Shooting Format:
    DIGITAL
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Cinema at Sea - Okinawa Pan-Pacific International Film Festival
    Okinawa
    Japan
    February 22, 2025
    World Premiere
    Opening Selection
Director Biography - HU. HAO-HSIANG

Director： Sean Hu

Sean Hu Hao Hsiang, the founder of HawStudio, is an accomplished director
and screenwriter. He gained recognition as the youngest winner of the 27th
Golden Harvest Awards with his work "Stopover". After university, he
received support from renowned directors Ang Lee and Khan Lee through the
"Project Pushing Hands," which led to the creation of Taiwan's first
micro-movie "Undying Legend," heralding a new era for internet-centric
films. Hu continues to leverage his vast experience in film production,
directing numerous projects for international corporations such as Google,
YouTube, and Getac, with his creative footprint spanning across the globe
Representative works:
Millennium Express（2024 Theatrical film with content production subsidy
from the Ministry of Culture for TV and new media）
Simple Life (2024 FFIFA21 Award of Curator’s Picks)
Return (2015 Sony 4K Excellent Film)
Unique (2014 Taiwan Micro-Film NPO Category First Award)
Someone Like You (2014 Taiwan Micro-Film Top 30)
The youngest prize winner of the 27th (2004) Golden Harvest Award
FRAGMENTS OF SUMMER（An innovative film of PTS）

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The Japanese expedition of 1874, When I was 15 years old, history textbooks told me that it affected the fate of Taiwan.But no teacher could clearly describe what really happened. Thirty years later, the mystery remains unsolved.

By chance, I travelled deep into the southernmost mountains of Taiwan and flew to the Miyako-jima near the main island of Okinawa, far away in the ocean. With the help of survivors' records and fragmentary historical data from 150 years ago, I was able to solve the mystery I was left with at the age of 15.

This historical event is really different from what my teachers taught me at that time.