Taiwan Docs

Through the director’s perspective and voice-over narration, we follow three family stories: Yaki (“Grandma” in Tayal) reminiscences about the community warmth in her once self-sufficient village as she attempts to revive the cultivation of millet. Sulu is a high school student who is about to study in the city, but on graduation day, a misunderstanding brings tension between him and his father. In the end, a millet dish melts all the bitterness. Hui-Juan, newly married into the Sqoyaw village, learns to cook salted meat with millet in the hope of recapturing the indigenous flavor of the traditional Tayal cooking taught by her father-in-law. In the meantime, she worries about her children’s future.

Three independent stories are connected through the growing and cooking of millet, or “Trakis” in Tayal. Their lives shown bring to light pressing issues Indigenous people face today: the shift in farming patterns, the coming and going of younger group members, and the need for preserving and restoring traditional culture. Director Sayun Simung, who once struggled with her self-identity, found her sense of belonging through her Home Trilogy: Searching for the Trakis (2011), Sqoyaw, My Sweet Home (2012) and Millets Back Home (2013).

Source: Taiwan Cinema Toolkit