ABSTRACT
This chapter exploresthat the positioning of the (filmed), other as an interlocutor and a peer is a prominent character of Taiwan's new documentary. The documentary films discussed in the chapter demonstrate how the practice of 'historiography from below' operates in real praxis and contributes to the re-vision of history. Such a practice of historiography is possible only with fruitful exchanges between the filmmaker's and the filmed subjects' voices. The chapter shows that these exchanges are not restricted to the participatory mode that dominates the Taiwanese documentary scene in the 1990s under the influence of the Full-shot School headed by Wu Yi-feng. In the 1990s, Taiwan witnessed a boom of historical reconstruction as the lifting of martial law in 1987 triggered historical projects intent on resurrecting suppressed memories and personal stories. The rediscovery of these untold memories and forgotten stories was closely linked to the heated debates on national as well as personal identities.
