Private Project

ashes

This story begins with a dream, yet this dream is seen from another movie.
A past sealed in home videos; family emotions that cannot be severed sneak into the folds of memory. Upon awakening, watching and disappearing advance in unison.

The village he grew up in is slowly fading away. After returning home, he picks up a camera and begins conversing with family members. Daily life is repeatedly captured in the frame — from overgrown unmarked graves to family worship, from the silent to the intimate. At the same time, he is hit by how unfamiliar and distant his family feels.

  • Shang-Ting CHOU
    Director
  • Pai-Zhang WANG
    Commissioning Editor
  • Yi-Ju CHEN
    Production Coordinator
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    灰燼
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Family, Poetic, Reflexive
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 7 minutes 39 seconds
  • Production Budget:
    50,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Taiwan
  • Country of Filming:
    Taiwan
  • Language:
    Chinese, Chinese - Min Nan
  • Shooting Format:
    Full HD
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • Public Television Service Taiwan
    Distributor
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Shang-Ting CHOU

Shang Ting CHOU holds a master’s degree from Shih Hsin University and has worked in the film industry for many years as a cinematographer, producer and editor. Films he has worked on have earned recognition at both domestic and international film festivals. Ashes is his first documentary feature.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement


This aging village is being gradually reduced to ashes. I realized I must document the present in order to resist its inevitable reality.

I remember my ill grandmother’s helpless eyes before she passed. They seemed filled with condemnation, yet I still abandoned her.
I discovered the contours of life here, yet I didn’t know how to capture it. It was as though I was hiding behind the viewfinder, far away from the bondage of family.

Dad’s hair is turning white, his memory fading; I’m becoming more like him. One day, my brother and I will probably be like this too.