Director

A-Kai is an independent alternative documentary filmmaker and photographer from White River, Tainan (in Taiwan). He has been actively involved in unsanctioned political movements before martial law was inactivated in Taiwan. For over 15 years, he has participated in countless political demonstrations and social movements. In 1990, he began to experiment with documentary filmmaking. A-Kai adheres closely to the truth by using no narration whatsoever, in order to give a true account of his subjects. Whether for film or print, the topics he chooses always deal with social issues involving labor disputes, environmental crises, as well as socio-cultural problems such as psychological and intellectual disorders. A-Kai insists on marking the presence of the documentary filmmaker in his films. He is determined to show his audience the process and spirit by which his films have been made. For a long time, A-Kai has made his films entirely on his own. He is Taiwan’s only truly independent filmmaker. His projects have been well received in film festivals both here in Taiwan and internationally. His films have also been embraced as the textbook for domestic labor education. The material he shot has become a database of Taiwan’s process of democratization. Before he became a filmmaker, A-Kai was a camera salesman, a street performer as well as beautician and make-up artist. In recent years, he has been using oil paintings in his films to give a different kind of subject interpretation. A-Kai’s passion and determination is perhaps a reflection of his own desire and expectation for social justice.