Laha Mebow (Chinese: 陳潔瑤; pinyin: Chén Jiéyáo; born 5 December 1975) is a Taiwanese Atayal film director, screenwriter and television producer. She is notable for directing the film Hang in There, Kids! for which she won two awards at the Taipei Film Festival. She is widely considered to be the first female Taiwanese indigenous film director and TV producer.[1]
Laha Mebow | |
|---|---|
 Laha Mebow in October 2022 | |
| Born | 5 December 1975 |
| Nationality | Taiwanese |
| Other names | Chen Jieyao |
| Alma mater | Shih Hsin University |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter |
| Chinese name | |
| Traditional Chinese | 陳潔瑤 |
| Simplified Chinese | 陈洁瑶 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Chén Jiéyáo |
Life and career
editLaha Mebow was born in 1975 in Nan-ao, Taiwan. She was raised in Taichung by her father who was a police officer and her mother who was a teacher. After graduating from Shih Hsin University with a degree in film she later joined Taiwan Indigenous Television where she learned more about her heritage and indigenous culture.[1][2]
In 2011, Laha Mebow made her directorial debut with Finding Sayun, a film which focuses on the stories of contemporary Atayal people in Yilan looking back to the impact on their community during the Japanese colonial period and during and after the arrival of the KMT in Taiwan. She cast the film using mainly non-professional indigenous actors and set it in her home village of Tyohemg in Yilan County. The film was released in 2011 to a mixed review by the Taipei Times but was well received by audiences.[3][4] In 2015, Mebow received a Republic of China Top 10 Outstanding Young Women Award.[5] The following year, she directed her second film Hang in There, Kids!, a coming of age story about three indigenous children growing up in a remote indigenous township. The film was so well received that Taiwan's Ministry of Culture selected it as the country's entry into the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[6][7] Although it failed to be nominated for the Academy Award, the film went on to win five categories at the Taipei Film Festival including Best Director and Best Narrative Feature,[8] as well as a special award at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival.[9] She is also the director of the 2017 feature-length documentary film Ça Fait Si Longtemps, which tracks interactions of Indigenous musicians from Taiwan and Kanak and settler musicians in New Caledonia. In 2022, Laha Mebow won the Best Director award for her third feature film Gaga at the 59th Golden Horse Awards.[10][11] She was the first Taiwanese and indigenous woman to win that award.[12]
References
edit- ^ a b Zeng, Zhijun. "從都市到原鄉，從台灣到第三世界 ——《只要我長大》導演陳潔瑤／Laha Mebow的尋根旅程" [From Urban to Rural, From Taiwan to the Third World] (in Chinese). Fun Screen. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "Director | Laha Mebow". Ministry of Culture. 7 September 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ Ho, Yi (25 November 2011). "Movie review: Finding Sayun 不一樣的月光". Taipei Times. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "Finding Sayun" (in Chinese). Yahoo. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "President urges outstanding young women to lead in society". Central News Agency. 8 March 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
- ^ Frater, Patrick (22 September 2016). "Taiwan Takes Out 'Kids!' for Oscar Run". Variety. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "Taiwan's indigenous film 'Lokah Laqi' to vie for Oscar award". Central News Agency. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ Liao, George (17 July 2016). "'Lokah Laqi!' captures five titles at Taipei Film Festival". Taiwan News. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "4 Taiwanese films awarded at Houston international film festival". Central News Agency. 30 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ Yen, William (20 November 2022). "Golden Horse Awards: Laha Mebow grabs best director honors". Central News Agency. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "Hong Kong film 'Limbo' leads Golden Horse Award nominations - Focus Taiwan". focustaiwan.tw. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
- ^ Teng, Pei-ju (9 April 2023). "FEATURE/Weaving Indigenous stories into gripping movies: Filmmaker Laha Mebow". Central News Agency. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
External links
edit
- Laha Mebow at IMDb