22nd New York Asian Film Festival

Jul 14-30, 2023

Photo: © SKY FILMS Entertainment Co., Ltd. © All rights reserved

East Coast Premiere

Gaga

哈勇家

Taiwan’s indigenous population makes up about 3% of the county’s 24 million citizens. Gaga (Tribal Law), the third film by Taiwan’s first indigenous female director, Laha Mebow, offers such a rare, up-close and personal look at the storied Atayal tribe that the lines between documentary and fiction are magnificently blurred. It begins auspiciously with authentic tribespeople giving Taiwanese visitors an informative tour of their land and culture. The focus quickly switches to their family and what happens when their wise patriarch passes away, soon after his strongly independent granddaughter returns from studying abroad. This sets in motion a tangled web of drama across three generations, that includes a tumultuous mayoral election, tribal conspiracies, risk-reward gambles, unexpected visitors and other emotionally-charged challenges of life. Imbued with divinely tragicomic undertones, Gaga's deceptively simple story allows the audience to bask in the glory of this endearing clan’s unique culture and effervescent personalities.

Director: Laha Mebow
Cast: Wilang Lalin, Lin Ting-li, Yukan Losing, Kagaw Piling, Esther Huang
Languages: Atayal, Mandarin, Taiwanese and English, with English Subtitles
2022; 111 min.

SCHEDULE:

Tuesday July 18, 8:30pm
Film at Lincoln Center

Intro & Q&A with director Laha Mebow.

Laha Mebow
陳潔瑤

Laha Mebow is the first indigenous female director in Taiwan and an Atayal. She graduated from Shih Hsin University and began a career spanning two decades, with her focus on indigenous movies and documentaries. She has worked with collaborators in Paris, shot a music documentary in the South Pacific and worked with teams in New Zealand. Mebow’s second film, Lakah Laqi, won Grand Prize, Best Narrative Feature, Best Director, Award for Editing and Best New Talent at the 2016 Taipei Film Festival. It was also screened in nearly 20 film festivals and was Taiwan's submission for that year's Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscard. With Finding Sayun, Lakah Laqi and Gaga, Mebow completes her Atayal trilogy.