The documentary “Island In Between (金門)” directed by Taiwanese American director S. Leo Chiang (江松長) has been shortlisted for Best Documentary Short Film at the 96th Academy Awards, competing with 15 works for the prize.
Added with the perspectives of the outsiders, the “Island In Between” captures the daily lives of Kinmen, Taiwan’s outlying island that lies in the Amoy (Xiamen) Bay, southeast of mainland China's Fujian Province. The film also unfolds the memory of the director’s father serving on the island as a soldier, attempting to illustrate the relationship between Taiwan, Kinmen, and China.
Director Chiang emphasized that, during the shooting process, he intended to not present the documentary as an interview, but instead, he chose to simply show the images so that the audience could feel and be immersed in the atmosphere.
He also mentioned that due to his background in Taiwan and the U.S., this film caught on with international viewers and reached more than ten thousand views within a week of its debut on The New York Times Op-Docs platform. Through the documentary, even though the viewers didn’t know the history of Taiwan and China, they can get a better understanding of Taiwan’s marginalized role in the international community and the Taiwanese identity crisis in the country, noted the director.