Tourist hotels take over good farmland, while "Sun Child" uses sea rice to protect tradition

Based on the story of the Port village villagers of Fengbin Township in Hualien County working together to revive the water terraces, the film "The Sun's Children," co-directed by Cheng Yu-chieh and Lekal Sumi, will be released on September 25.

Scenes of the sapphire-blue Pacific Ocean, golden rice waves in the water terraces, and villagers breaking into radiant smiles after the irrigation channels were repaired flow through the film. Cheng Yu-chieh and Lekal Sumi try to use images to tell a gentle yet resilient story, reminding viewers of the value of land they once possessed or may be about to lose.

Sea Rice Spurs "The Sun's Children": Awakening the Importance of Protecting Tradition

In order to revive the water terrace landscape that hugged the mountains and the sea 30 years ago, Sumi Dongi, who lives in the Port village and is also the mother of one of "The Sun's Children" directors, Lekal Sumi, applied to the Forestry Bureau for a subsidy 2 and a half years ago, setting in motion the tribe's revival process of searching for old water sources, repairing irrigation channels, clearing wasteland, and planting seedlings. Sumi Dongi's wholehearted dedication also prompted Lekal Sumi to pick up a camera and film it all, and the documentary "The Wish of the Sea Rice" came into being.

2 years ago, Cheng Yu-chieh came to Hualien and Taitung because of a report on an ultramarathon girl. At the time, ultramarathon girl Tian Xiao-qi, then studying at Ruisui Junior High School, became famous after her grandmother fell ill and was taken to the hospital, and when she returned to school the next day to take an exam she found she had no money at all and ran 23 kilometers the whole way, causing a sensation.

However, because the media paid too much attention, Cheng Yu-chieh decided not to make contact in order to avoid causing disturbance. Instead, he interviewed people such as the Citizens of the Earth Foundation and Lin Shu-ling of the Citong tribe. Along the way, he unexpectedly met Sumi Dongi through Panay Lee of the Port village and learned about the story of the sea rice revival, which launched the filming plan for "The Sun's Children."