Experiencing Interruptions?

The Golden Body of an Island

A continuous pilgrimage unfolds across rural Taiwan, where over a million people move together in devotion to Mazu. As day and night blur, the procession becomes a shared temporal field where bodies, landscape, and ritual merge into one sustained movement.

  • CHIH HAO SHEN
    Director
  • CHIH HAO SHEN
    Writer
  • MFX Films
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental
  • Genres:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    April 20, 2026
  • Country of Origin:
    Taiwan
  • Country of Filming:
    Taiwan
  • Language:
    Chinese - Min Nan
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - CHIH HAO SHEN

Chih Hao Shen is an animation and documentary filmmaker whose work explores human existence, memory, and time through restrained visual storytelling.

His debut work received recognition from Rhode Island IFF. His short film 10 Seconds was selected by In The Palace, Fantasporto, and Asolo Art Film Festival (2026). His documentary YinYang Sea won the Grand Prix at Asolo Art Film Festival (2026).

His projects have been presented in international industry contexts, including Clermont-Ferrand, Visions du Réel, Cannes Short Film Corner, Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, and Oberhausen.

Beyond filmmaking, he has worked in visual design and digital product development, including licensed merchandise design for The Lord of the Rings franchise in the Chinese-language market, visual work at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, and founded and leads a software development company developing animation and visual effects tools within the Apple ecosystem.

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Director Statement

A pilgrimage involving over a million participants unfolds across rural Taiwan as a continuous movement without a fixed route, where people travel together in devotion to Mazu. The film observes this procession as an extended temporal condition rather than a sequence of events.

As it persists through day and night, temporal boundaries gradually dissolve. Movement becomes constant, and distinctions between rest and continuation blur within the collective flow of bodies across landscape.

Occasional intrusions of the contemporary world—such as aircraft crossing the sky or distant infrastructure—briefly appear, revealing parallel systems of movement operating at different speeds and scales.

Rather than focusing on individual narratives, the film follows how a collective presence is formed and sustained through duration, proximity, and shared movement.