My Film & My Gaga

Tayal-Taiwanese filmmaker Laha Mebow moved from her home village to the city during her childhood. As an indigenous person who grew up in the city, this means she disconnected from Tayal culture at a young age. During her youth, she tried to learn Tayal from her mother but didn’t succeed, only to realize that the cultural gap was even larger than she had thought. It wasn’t until she turned 30 that Laha Mebow managed to narrow the gap slightly. Through her work, she visited various tribes and learned about indigenous knowledge and culture. An ancestral search experience led her to start tracing where she came from through filmmaking. Suddenly, she felt a strong reconnection with Tayal culture. Determined, Laha Mebow created feature films Finding Sayun and Lokah Laqi in 2010 and 2016, respectively, portraying the struggles of Tayal tribe’s life with a light and humorous narrative style. In the process, she also interpreted indigenous themes through documentary films and other forms. This includes the significant “Gaga” in Tayal culture, which is the orally transmitted life norm, customs, moral values, and the cultural core. The film Gaga is the work she used to understand the meaning of “Gaga” in Tayal culture.

The Vancouver Taiwanese Film Festival invites Director Laha Mebow to share her journey in making the film Gaga and engage in dialogues about indigenous rights with audiences from Canada. Together, they will share the creative focus when dealing with indigenous-related issues in filmmaking, aiming to enhance the audience’s understanding of the importance of respecting indigenous cultural discourse and embracing multiculturalism.

Film Screening Time: Sat, Sept 9 at 06:00 PM

The panel will take place immediately after the screening.