Alifu, the Prince/ss

Film description

Alifu works in a hair salon, enjoys city life, and dreams of raising enough money for a sex reassignment surgery. But, suddenly, family matters call Alifu back to the hometown Alifu grew up in – and where Alifu’s father is the chief of a native community of the island. He is convinced his son will take over his duties as the leader.

The vivid traditions of the aboriginal culture and the pulsating lights of the club scene of Taipei – Wang’s dynamic plot is filled with contrasts and fascinating protagonists. Alifu’s story is intertwined with stories of Peizhan, Alifu’s lesbian flatmate, or Sherry, a trans woman of an older generation and owner of a drag bar where civil servant Chris occasionally performs to unwind after a stressful day at work. The director shows the protagonists at a moment when they have to face the unexpected that will change their lives forever.

Alifu is played by Utjung Tjakivalid, actor, musician, and a member of the Paiwan community, who faced a lot of prejudice growing up as a non-heteronormative person. In the interviews, however, he stressed that although he expected his experiences to help him in the preparations for the role, it turned out that the reality of transgender people is completely different and he will be facing a lot of challenges. The filmmakers have put an enormous amount of work into the film – the idea for the script was based on facts, but they have conducted a lot of additional interviews with members of the Paiwan community and with transgender people to make their story more credible and to recreate the world of the protagonist in every detail.

text:
Jagoda Murczyńska