Returning to the origin, seeing hometown: Tainan young directors arrive in their hometown with documentary films.-國立成功大學永續發展SDGs

The "Homecoming Film Festival - Tainan Edition," sponsored by SinoPac Holdings | SinoPac Bank, was grandly held on November 25th at the Future Venue of NCKU. Young directors from Seven Grass District, An Nan District, and Xinshi District in Tainan shared their hometown stories with local residents. The event brought together documentary interviewees, filming groups, sponsoring entity SinoPac Bank's local colleagues and VIPs, as well as the base schools and principals Chen Liangtu of Shun Primary School, Tsai Nanching of Dashe Elementary School, and Dai Liangchuan of Shulin Elementary School. They all joined together to share and witness the glorious moments of these young directors from "Seeing Hometown."


The "Seeing Hometown" project, initiated by Professor Wen-Yu Su of NCKU in 2017, is currently managed by the "Taiwan Seeing Hometown Promotional Education Association." With the sponsorship of SinoPac Holdings | SinoPac Bank, the project has entered its seventh year, allowing us to embark on the lively "Homecoming Film Festival" with the completed hometown documentaries and the enthusiasm of young directors. For the first stop, we returned to the birthplace of "Seeing Hometown" - Tainan.


President Meng-Ru Shen of NCKU expressed that children are like kites, constantly flying higher during their growth, but the string connecting them has always been their hometown. Secretary-General Chih-Hsiung Yang of the Tainan City Government's Education Bureau also mentioned the historical significance of Tainan entering its four-hundredth year next year. He emphasized the importance of today's Homecoming Film Festival, stating that home is a crucial factor, bringing everyone together. The adventure of the children is not only rooted in Tainan but also carries a global dream, hoping that they will become world-renowned directors.


Chia-Hsing Chen, Senior Executive Vice President of SinoPac Bank, a staunch supporter of the Seeing Hometown project, expressed the hope that through this project, we can see the hometown through the eyes of children. The result is the Homecoming Film Festival, which returned to NCKU in Tainan today. The venue was chosen to have a double meaning at the Future Venue, looking forward to carrying the future of the children and ensuring the sustainable prosperity of our hometown.


Principal Nan-Ching Tsai of Dashe Elementary School in Xinshi District stated that Dashe Elementary School will establish a new studio to make "Seeing Hometown" image education have a base in the south, hoping that many talents in Taiwan can emerge from this project in the future.


The initiator of the Seeing Hometown project, Honorary Chairman Wen-Yu Su, expressed his joy that the wish he had made in previous years, hoping that the Homecoming Film Festival could be held in the children's hometowns rather than at NCKU or in Taipei, has come true this year. The Chairman of the Taiwan Seeing Hometown Promotional Education Association, Director Yen-Kuang Pu, mentioned that besides teaching children skills like flying drones and coding, they are also considering giving children the opportunity to show us their hometowns. He hopes that talents can stay in their hometowns and even tell more stories about their hometowns.


In the seven years of the Seeing Hometown project, it has collaborated with 32 junior high and elementary schools, leading young directors to complete 60 hometown documentaries. The three teams from Tainan are: Shulin Elementary School in Seven Grass District, led by teacher Yi-Lin Yang, who has been participating for four years, completed "The Journey of Crane's Love for Home," "Shuzi Jiao's Crane Teasing Formation," "Crane! Let's Go to School Together," and "Oyster Boh-Wen Mobilization." An Nan District Shun Primary School, participating for the second year, documented the past and present of the Taijiang Inner Sea in An Nan District, completing "Hello Migrant Workers" and "Baozhou Baozhou." Xinshi District Dashe Elementary School, a new school in the current year, filmed the local belief culture and the relationship between local residents in "Dashe Xinshi."


Notably, the subject of "Crane! Let's Go to School Together" from Shulin Elementary School is the headman and over 30 elders from Shulin Village in Tainan. On the day of the event, the headman Huang Baotian and the chairman of the Shulin Community Development Association, Wang Bohuang, led them to the scene. It was a rare opportunity for the elders from Shulin Village to leave their area with the friends from the Black Leather Academy. Through this activity, an unexpected "Homecoming Trip" unfolded, and they energetically performed the "Black Leather Muscle Building" in the opening ceremony. The young directors of Dashe Elementary School also took on the responsibility of warming up the performance, with each person giving their best to present the best performance to their hometown friends and supporting audiences.


On that day, a surprise guest, Golden Melody Award-winning singer Ming-You Xie, who collaborated with Seeing Hometown in 2021 on "Hometown is My Beloved," appeared and sang three heartfelt songs, "Days," "Go," and "Dreamer," giving the most sincere blessings and expectations to Tainan, the children, and the elders through his singing.


The event also showcased the exclusive Tainan gift bag for the "Homecoming Film Festival" - "Gift Good Tainan," collecting specialty items and agricultural products from the participating schools' local areas: white wax apples and dried longans produced in the fertile lands of Chianan Plain in Xinshi District, the "Gua Mu Su" pastry created by Shulin Elementary School combining local specialties such as cantaloupe and horse mackerel, and the traditional pies from the old bakery in Taijiang Inner Sea, An Nan District.


"Homecoming Film Festival - Tainan Edition" - Documentary Links


Shun Primary School in An Nan District
"Preserving Zhou, Protecting Zhou"
Senior Baozhou interprets his name as protection of the island, so in the process of tracing his roots, he also hopes to protect the history of Zhongzhou. Senior Baozhou also hopes that we can inherit the action of preserving culture, so he taught us the three steps of root-seeking SOP: tracing time, finding space, and visiting people. Following Senior Baozhou's footsteps, we found the disappeared Daodao River in Zhongzhou and went to his ancestral grave in Shujia, Xuejia, guided by Senior Baozhou. We also heard about the hardships of root-seeking, which made us more touched by Senior Baozhou's persistent spirit of seeking roots for more than thirty years.

Dashe Elementary School in Xinshi District
"The Tale of Dashe Firewood"
Dashe Village in Xinshi District, Tainan City, is a place with a strong legend of Xuanwu. There are three Xuantian Temples in Dashe Village alone, with the North Pole Hall being the largest in scale.
We documented the life of Mr. Xie Menglong to discover the importance and belief of Dashe Village residents in temples. We also recorded how the Songjiang Formation gathered the community, allowing the Xie Menglong family, who came from outside, to quickly integrate into Dashe. We hope that our documentary can preserve the purest memories and culture of Dashe.

Shulin Elementary School in Seven Grass District
"Crane! Let's Go to School Together"
Zhou He received an admission notice from the Black Leather Academy and set off the next day to go to school in Shulin. On the way, he discovered a group of people who worked secretly in the kitchen from 5 am to 6 am without resting early in the morning.
It is said that the students at the school don't want to graduate even at the age of 103! Why do they insist on coming to school when they can rest at home at such an old age? Even people from other communities come here out of curiosity. What kind of school is this? Do you want to know more? Let us "Crane! Let's Go to School Together."

"Oyster Boh-Wen Mobilization"
This is a story about Oyster Ji and his good friend Oyster Boh-Wen. To promote the oyster farming industry in his hometown, Oyster Ji drives his good friend Oyster Boh-Wen's barbecue car, bringing delicious seafood dishes from his hometown to night markets and outside banquets, allowing many people to experience the delicious seafood cuisine from their hometown. What made Oyster Ji decide to return to his hometown, Luzhu Gully in Beimen, and spend all his savings to create the Oyster Academy?
Why are the young people in the hometown also willing to join him and contribute to the beauty of the hometown? Have you been to Luzhu Gully? Come here and see the sunset and the beauty of Luzhu Gully!