Voices of Orchid Island focuses on the Yami, people whose ancestors were among the first to inhabit Taiwan. Their home is Orchid Island, a small island located 45 miles off the southeast coast of Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean. The film explores the complex and often troubled relationship the Yami community has with the outside world by looking in detail at three different cases of "invasion" it has experienced.
The film opens by directly addressing the suspicions the Yami have of outsiders. The visit of a Taiwan tour group to the island is fraught with cultural miscues, sometimes humorous in their absurdity, but there are also sobering hints of exploitation. By the end of this scene it is easy to understand why the Yami have forbidden tourists to photograph them. The second aspect the film deals with is the island's medical care. The film follows the one western-trained doctor on his rounds as he tries to introduce a basic level of modern medicine while confrontion a firmly entrenched set of local beliefs and traditions. Finally, the film documents the local anti-nuclear movement, the target of which is the nuclear waste dump the ROC government has built on the island. We hear representatives of the national govern- ment defend the site's safety while local people express their fears and concerns at having the site so near by. Woven throughout the film are views of Orchid Island's rugged, gorgeous scenery and its vibrant festivals.
Anthropologist Hu Tai-Li worked closely with local people in making the film, and the rapport the developed with them is apparent in the details of daily life and the personal experiences that tie the film together. As in her past films (The Return of Gods and Ancestors [1984], Songs of Pasta'ay [1989]), the people being filmed use their own words to tell their individual and collective stories.
Voices of Orchild Island in 1993 won Taiwan's highest award for filmmaking, a Golden Horse Award for Best Documentary Film, and in 1994 won a Silver Plaque Award at the Chicago International Film Festival. In addition, the film has been
selected for entry in film festivals around the world. For further information, contact
Ms Hu Tai-Li, Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei, Taiwan. ROC, Fax:886-2-7855836. Tel:886-2-7899353.