Joyful Life

A documentary about the residents of Lo-Sheng ("Joyful Life"), a leprosy colony located on the Sinjuang hillsides on the outskirts of Taipei. Established in 1930, the colony was governed by an isolation policy that severely restricted the civil liberties of the residents; the policy was finally lifted in the mid-1950's. As a result, the colony's residents, at one time numbering over 1,100, was given the opportunity to remain, leave, or self-admit. Over the ensuing years, the population of Lo-Sheng dwindled to less than 500, rendering the village vulnerable to assorted community redevelopment projects. In 2002, more than one-third of the village was demolished to make way for subway construction, forcing over half of the remaining 300 residents to move into a newly-constructed hospital. Further plans for demolition have been halted due to the protestations of residents and student/human rights activists, leaving Lo-Sheng in a state of limbo-still housing a fraction of its post-WWII population, the sanatorium faces continued pressures from the government, private interests, and local civilians to evacuate in the name of modernity and progress. A community that time has seemingly left behind, a sharp contrast with the burgeoning, impatient redevelopment enveloping the urban landscape below. In Lo-Sheng, there is a sense of peace, of quiet, of time to think and reminisce. In Taipei, there is chaos, congestion, a sense of claustrophobia.