On an island a century old, a travel photographer searches for her family history; a young diver faces danger beneath the waves; an octogenarian Taiwanese compatriot, terminally ill and plagued by confused memories; and an innkeeper whose ancestor was a woman who served the sea gods... On Minnan's Jiaoren Island, there is a black-and-white photograph of Mazu, a torn scrap of clothing deep beneath the sea, and a pearl diver's nightmare. Visitors come and go as the fog drifts in and out, searching for answers amid the bustle of everyday life.
The focus behind the camera, the pursuit beneath the waves, the homesickness in the stories, the vigil aboard the fishing boats: together, they piece together the lives and memories of four generations on Jiaoren Island. We leave in order to return, seek in order to rebuild, and dredge the past up to find confirmation. We were never truly apart.
Every separation has its day of return; the deep sea always echoes back.
