Two documentary films screened at the Hsinchu Image Museum in March have brought local fame to Feng Zhu-mei, skilled in the traditional methods of making mourning clothes and giving facials.
Produced by the Donghua Community Development Association in Hsinchu County's Zhudong Township, the two movies, “Life's Etiquette – The Meaning behind Traditional Mourning Clothes,” and “Recreating Beautiful Faces in the Neighborhood” were, according to association director Huang Ming-zhu, the results of community course assignments. The producers had no idea that the two films would be selected for public screening.
Huang added that the two documentaries not only serve to demonstrate the work that has been carried out in the community, they also highlight its cultural assets and put the spotlight on Feng.
Feng has been making mourning clothes and giving traditional facials for about 30 years, almost all her adult life, but mass-produced machine-made mourning clothes and new cosmetic techniques have largely replaced her skills. However, Feng believes in the need to preserve these traditional lines of work and has imparted their significance to her children and grandchildren. She was thus willing to take on the main role portrayed in the films, though she did not expect any public or media exposure.
In order to make the two films, Huang sought out the assistance of her husband Li Zheng-ming, a retired teacher, to direct as well as shoot the documentary. Huang also recruited a good friend, Lin Xiu-mei, to log the filming. The trio launched the production after taking several courses in filming and editing.
Zeng Huan-peng, director of the Hsinchu County Department of Cultural Affairs, said technical aspects of the films aside, the content of the two documentaries is extremely moving, and they are definitely culturally meaningful in light of the potential disappearance of traditional mourning clothes-making and facials.
The documentaries were two of the three Donghua community films entered in the Hsinchu Image Museum documentary film festival held this March, which attracted 60 films from nine counties and cities around Taiwan.
The chairman of the Donghua Community Development Association, Dai Xing-yun, said the Donghua neighborhood, the surrounding area and Zhudong Township with its "Old Street" all have many interesting stories to tell, and he believes that the outstanding reception received by the two films will encourage other residents to make movies that will help the entire world get to know their community.
(This article originally appeared in “The Liberty Times” April 27.)