The Silent Forest
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Film description
Chang Cheng is a deaf teenager, apprehensive about starting a new school for the youth just like him. But the first impression turns out to be very positive, he finally feels safe among his peers. On top of that, the boy's attention is snatched by a fellow student, Beibei, who seems to be interested in him too. But it soon turns out that the school is ruled by a complex system of harassment of younger kids by older students, which the adults have been ignoring for years. Nothing here is simple, including the reaction of the victims, so how can this rigid circle of silence and abuse be broken?
The film, based on a true story, caused a shock and a national debate in Taiwan, and received eight nominations for the most important local prizes – the Golden Horse Awards. And deservedly so. The shocking subject was put into an amazing form, creating a literal, yet non-exploitative story. A special mention goes to the soundtrack, showing the world of people using sign language, unable to express their fear through screaming.
Interventionist cinema rarely goes beyond its immediate role. "Silent Forest" is an exception. Ko Chen-nien focuses not only on the reconstruction of the shocking events, but also on showing universal mechanisms of the rise and rule of evil, and of the traumas it leads to.
text:
Marcin Krasnowolski
Ko Chen-nien
Taiwanese director and screenwriter. Her first short film "Horse with No Name," devoted to the subject of school violence, received a Golden Horse Award nomination in 2011. "Silent Forest" is her feature debut.
2010 Horse with No Name (film krótkometrażowy)
2014 Ni jing / Under the Water (film krótkometrażowy)
2020 Milczący las / Wusheng / The Silent Forest
