SHANGDROK
Synopsis
Tibetan people live in Tibet and spread out all over the vast Tibetan plateau in western China. Shangdrok means northern nomads in the Tibetan language. Yaks and sheep accompany Tibetan nomads for thousands of years, offering not only companionship but providing the materials needed for survival in every aspect of life. However, even on this remote high-altitude plateau, life today becomes increasingly complicated. The green fields of the nomads are gradually disintegrating, and the nomadic lifestyle is fading. A small workshop is set up in an inconspicuous village on the Tibetan plateau that tries to work with the nomads. As a social enterprise, to regain their traditions of yak wool textile craftsmanship, to help the villagers who used to be nomads before lost all their yaks can earn their livings, and make them proud of themselves again. Through this film, we could stand closely by the side and capture the moments objectively how Tibetan people cherish their traditions and nomadic lifestyle, however losing them gradually at the same time while facing and embracing rapid modernization.
Credits
Jared Yeh – Director, Producer
Director Statement
This relatively backward village on the remote high-altitude plateau is like the intersection of past and future, tradition and modernity. Most of the people in this film were nomads but lost their yaks, settled down in the village, and lived a basic life. At the same time, they are used to live with unstable water quality and electricity in the village. Not far away across the river, a small city which the government builds for tourism, there are hotels, shops, restaurants, and supermarkets to buy everything they need. They might not be far away from their tradition yet are losing it gradually now. Perhaps it is to capture the moments they are going toward the modern and losing parts of their tradition for me. For them, it’s just living their lives and keeping the good old nomad days in their memories.
Director Biography
Born in 1981 in Taipei, Taiwan. Jared Yeh started working in film festivals after finishing the filmmaking program at New York Film Academy. Film festival working experience helps him know more about the whole picture of filmmaking and led him into the film industry. Soon after that, Yeh participated in his first film production in 2008. As an art director and standby art director, he has worked in numerous well-known and award-winning Taiwanese films and international cooperation movies. With his sense of art and enthusiasm in photography, Yeh also works as a director and cinematographer for many commercials, music videos, and short films.
