Documentary

Growing up as a fourth-generation Indonesian Taiwanese student who spent most of my life in Shanghai, Indonesia was a place I always considered home on paper, but one I felt I still had much to learn about. My curiosity about my heritage led me to create two documentary projects exploring the lives, traditions, and challenges of Indonesia’s indigenous communities: the Baduy people of West Java and the Dayak Kenyah people of Kalimantan.

Sacred Isolation

My first documentary focused on the Baduy, an indigenous community known for its deep connection to nature, traditional belief systems, and intentional separation from many aspects of modern life. Through conversations with community members and observations of their daily practices, I explored how the Baduy balance cultural preservation with the pressures of a rapidly changing world. Rather than portraying the community as frozen in time, the documentary examined how the Baduy actively make choices about what traditions to preserve, adapt, and pass on to future generations.

Dayak：The Quiet Warriors

My second documentary examined the Dayak Kenyah people of Kalimantan and their experience navigating cultural change after decades of migration, economic development, and environmental transformation. I explored how relocation, modernization, and external pressures have affected traditional practices, land relationships, and community identity. At the same time, the documentary highlighted the resilience of the Dayak people, including efforts through cultural villages, education, tourism, and youth involvement to maintain their heritage.

Together, these documentaries reflect my broader interest in indigenous identity, sustainability, and the relationship between tradition and change. Through filmmaking, I hope to share stories that are often overlooked and encourage others to see culture not as something preserved behind glass, but as something living and shaped by the people who carry it forward.