The Walkers (行者)

  Country  Taiwan
  Year  2015
  Genre  Documentary
  Format  Color / Flat / DCP
  Runtime  123 min
  Status  Completed
  Release Date  Apr. 10, 2015 (Taiwan)
  Director  Singing CHEN
  Producers  Singing CHEN, LIN Leh-Chyun

 

 

Festival & Awards

14^th Vladivostok International Film Festival of Asia-Pacific Countries – Documentary Screen. Professionals

Jumping Frames International Dance Video Festival 2016 – Official Selection

Amsterdam Cracking The Frame Presents – Official Selection

4th Singapore Chinese Film Festival – Documentary Vision

39th Goteborg Film Festival – Musik Nonstop

29th Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels (FIPA)  – Performing Art Competition

16^th ASIATICA, Encounters with Asian Cinema –Documentary Films Competition

22nd Women Make Waves Film Festival, Taiwan – Special Prize

51st Golden Horse Awards- Best Documentary Nominee

9^th Taiwan International Documentary Festival- Audience Choice Award

16th Taipei Film Festival – Taipei Film Awards – Documentary Competition

 

Trailer 

 

Synopsis

Filmed for over 10 years, this epic documentary presents the story of renowned Taiwanese choreographer Lin Lee-chen and her Legend Lin Dance Theatre. Extracting the essential details of Lin’s daily life, the film explores the origins of her dance, contemplates the poetic and ritualistic movements she creates, and delineates her lifetime pursuit of aesthetic concerns.

 

 

 

 About Lin Lee-chen and her Legend Lin Dance Theatre

Hailed as “a genius choreographer in Taiwan’s dance scene,” LIN Lee-chen founded the Legend Lin Dance Theatre in 1995. Meditative and majestically elegant, the group’s unique approach has made it a favorite at renowned international festivals, such as Festival d’Avignon, Lyon Dance Biennial and Festival de Otoño, where the group has attracted a host of enthusiastic admirers.

In 2002, Lin was named among the eight most significant choreographers in the world by ARTE, one of the most important art and culture television channels in Europe. The group’s original language of dance, which is not beholden to any overseas schools, helped Lin to receive Taiwan’s most prestigious award for arts in 2005. Following “Miroirs de Vie” and “Hymne aux Fleurs qui Passent,” “Song of Pensive Beholding” was the result of nine-year germination.

This long-awaited piece, completes Lin’s three-part tribute to Heaven, Earth, and Man, and serves as a witness to the choreographer’s originality by transforming her concerns for local culture into her own distinct dance vocabulary. As before, Lin’s original vocabulary of movement and its unique meditative quality brings the audience closer to earth’s inner spirit.

 

Director’s Statement

I remember back in 2000 when I watched the premiere of “Hymne aux Fleurs qui Passent,” I was completely blown away. So when National Culture and Arts Foundation Award approached me to make a short film on one of the award winners, I chose Ms. LIN Lee-chen without hesitation.

At that time, I was also preparing the script of my feature film which later took me one month to shoot. My overflowing energy afterwards took me on a remarkable ten-year journey to discover more about LIN’s creation and artistry. Such endeavor also made me reflect on my own path towards art.

This documentary is not merely about the aesthetics of dance; it is more about the philosophical contemplation on life. In short, it is not so much a film as a gift. I want to share with the audience how deeply moved I’ve been for the past ten years.

 

Director Singing CHEN

One of most talented and promising young directors in Taiwan. Her works are known for being highly stylized and fast-paced with focuses on issues in art and culture.

In 2007, her film, God, Man, Dog, was selected in The Forum at the Berlin International Film Festival and was voted Best Film by the Der Tagesspiegel, the biggest newspaper in Germany. Furthermore, it was invited to more than 30 film festivals, including Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea and Fribourg Film Festival in Switzerland. In 2000, the critical acclaim her first 16mm feature, BUNDLED (Wo Jiao A-Ming La) ”received won her numerous awards at both domestic and international film festivals, including Best Drama & Best New Director at Taipei Film Festival and Ecumenical Jury Award & ACAT Human Rights Special Award at Fribourg Film Festival.

In the same year, she completed a 35mm experimental documentary, “FLOATING ISLAND- WHO IS FISHING® ?”, which was invited to the Taiwan International Documentary Festival and Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival.

FILMOGRAPHY

2014 The Walkers (documentary)
2014 Mountain Spirit (documentary)
2013 “The Pig” (short film, part of the film
project Taipei Factory, presented in 2013’s
Directors’ Fortnight)
2012 “The Clock” (short film, part of the
film project When Yesterday Comes)
2007 God Man Dog
2000 Bundled
2000 “Who’s fishing?” (documentary short)