Skip to main content
Tayal Forest Club film image; two people jumping through river in forest

Tayal Forest Club

男孩奇幻夜

VIFF Short Forum

Two teens lose their way during a hike in the dense and mountainous Atayal homelands, crossing paths with a man who at first appears to be the town drunk.

 

Supported by

    

Media Partner

Community Partner

Director
Cast

Yukan Losing, Buya Watan, Kesi Silan

Credits
Country of Origin

Taiwan

Year

2024

Language

In Atayal and Mandarin with English subtitles

Film Contact
Links
18+
19 min
Cinemas of Asia Drama Indigenous Cinema Shorts Women Directors
Nia Tero Foundation, Upstander Project Production

Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Tracy Rector

Producer

Adam Mazo, Chen Yi Chen, Kavita Pillay, Tracy Rector, Taylor Hensel

Screenwriter

Laha Mebow, Yayut Icyang

Cinematography

Liao Ching-Yao

Editor

Sauli Pillay

Original Music

Jennifer Kreisberg

Art Director

Sheng-Lin Wu

Laha Mebow headshot; Tayal Forest Club director

Laha Mebow 陳潔瑤

As the first Indigenous woman film director from Taiwan, Laha Mebow is best known for feature films focusing on the Tayal community. Her 2022 feature film, Gaga (2022), garnered Laha the coveted best director award at the 2022 Golden Horse Awards, an annual celebration of Chinese language cinema. With it, Laha became the first Taiwanese woman and the first Indigenous director to win the Golden Horse award for best director. Her previous feature, Lokah Laqi! (Hang in There, Kids!) (2016) won five awards at the 2016 Taipei Film Awards, including Best Narrative and the Grand Prize. Lokah Laqi! was Taiwan’s submission to the 2017 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.

 

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

Ali & Ava

Dir. Clio Barnard
95 min

Bradford, West Yorkshire. Ali (Adeel Akhtar) is a music nut, and the most sympathetic landlord you will meet in a movie this year. Ava (Claire Rushbrook) is a teacher, a widow, and a grandmother. Clio Barnard's love story has music, humour and hope.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

A Brighter Summer Day

Dir. Edward Yang
237 min

Edward Yang's landmark movie is based on the true story of a crime that rocked Taiwan in the early 60s, set against a simmering backdrop of restless youth, rock and roll, and political turmoil.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Everybody to Kenmure Street

Dir. Felipe Bustos Sierra
95 min

This rousing documentary (100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) never puts a foot wrong as it recreates a tense, prolonged stand-off between the police and the citizens of Glasgow when an Immigration Enforcement squad attempt to arrest two men from their homes.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Silence of the Lambs

Dir. Jonathan Demme
118 min

Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) gives FBI serial killer hunter Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) pointers from his maximum security cell. But is he trying to aid the investigation, or just messing with her head?

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Milisuthando

Dir. Milisuthando Bongela
128 min

Milisithando uses the filmmaker's life as a context to dive into the "independent" Transkei of apartheid South Africa, offering us a new reading of this history.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Thelma & Louise

Dir. Ridley Scott
129 min

In this iconic feminist road movie BFF Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon take off for a weekend getaway that turns violent when one of them is attacked. The stakes get higher as they flee the scene. Winner: Best Original Screenplay (Callie Khouri).

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema