Deng Nan-Guang’s 8mm Movies (1935-41)

Overview

Deng Nan-Guang’s 57-minute collection of intimate home-style videos, filmed between 1935 and 1941, captures an overlooked side of Taiwanese life under Japanese occupation. The films depict ordinary people enjoying life, gathering together, sporting, and observing traditional customs in a variety of settings, including parks, in the countryside, and by the sea. The films serve as a well-preserved time portal to a bygone era, offering a glimpse of life in Taiwan under colonial rule in the lead up to the Second World War