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The Child of Nowhere - Adoptees are not merely a series of data in welfare institution

王孔澂《小洋》--- 被領養者不該化做成社福機構中的一串數據

Director Wang Dio had previously received the nomination at 52nd Golden Bell Awards (Television Series Award) for Best Screenplay - Close Your Eyes Before It's Dark (2016). In The Child of Nowhere, Wang centralizes a child's perception and depicts the mindset of an adoptee during the adoption process in Taiwan.

Wang's inspiration for this short film was from reading an article on the adoption of same-sex families. The article lays out the pros and cons through discussions from the outlooks of the adopter parents. However, there was a deficiency of perspectives from the adoptees and children. Wang decided to make the short film focusing on the children's thoughts, emotions, and desire for family.

The Child of Nowhere is purposely set without an ending to emphasize the characters' minds' emptiness. Wang said during the process of fieldwork; many children could not understand the reason for being abandoned. The questions are often left in their minds without explanations, such as "Why didn't my parents want me?" "Am I not good enough?" Therefore, Wang decided not to explain anything about the father at the end, leaving the audience to share the same confusion and emptiness with Xiao Yang.

During the research stage, social workers express how many children placed in social welfare institutions would try to escape. Due to the limited resources, children who were not found by the police would eventually sink into the undercurrent of society and disappear without a trace. Hence Wang chose the English film title as The Child of Nowhere and ended the story with a long shot by the sea.


The Child of Nowhere will be streaming on demand at Taiwan Film Festival in Australia from 16-30 September.

Taiwan Film Festival in Australia

曾以植劇場《天黑請閉眼》入圍52屆電視金鐘獎戲劇節目編劇獎的王孔澂這次以導演的身份製作短片《小洋》,以小孩的角度為出發,描寫台灣領養議題中被領養者的心境。


導演分享自己曾讀到一篇涉及同志家庭領養議題的相關文章,文中的正反論述皆以家長的角度出發進行討論,卻因欠缺被領養和被遺棄孩子們的視角,讓王孔澂決定製作短片《小洋》,聚焦於孩子的想法、情緒的抒發以及對家庭的渴望。將他們的自我形象與價值細膩刻畫,不該是一紙被化約為台灣社福體制中的一串數據。


《小洋》運用無結局的方式,帶出人物角色心中的空虛感。王孔澂表示在田野調查的過程中,有不少孩子都無法理解自己被遺棄的理由,在他們心中往往會留下「為什麼父母不要我?是不是我還不夠好?」的疑惑,於是以不交代父親劇情的方式呈現給觀眾,讓觀眾與片中的小洋處於相同的困惑與空虛之中。


另外,王孔澂也分享自己曾聽到社工提及很多被安置在社福機構的孩子們會試圖逃跑,因資源有限的關係,未被警方尋獲的孩子將沉入社會的暗潮之中而消失無蹤,沒有人知道他們的去處。這也是為什麼王孔澂將英文片名取為The Child of Nowhere,並以海邊的一顆長鏡頭為故事劃下句點。


《小洋》將於 9 月 16 日至 30 日在線上放映。

Taiwan Film Festival in Australia

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