Dua Ji
Taiwan, United States, 18 mins, Digital
In rural Taiwan, during her mother’s funeral, AHsien–the eldest daughter–grapples with grief, resentment, and the quiet burden of tradition. As patriarchal rituals unfold, a silent resistance emerges, unsettling the roles she was expected to fulfill.
Director: YuHan Tsai
Writer: YuHan Tsai
Producer: CheKuei Chang, YuHan Tsai
Director of Photography: Murdo Barker-Mill
Editor: Aacharee Ungsriwong
Production Designer: Tinco Liao
Composer: Thomas Foguenne
Cast: KueiMei Yang
Contact: YuHan Tsai, yt2738@columbia.edu
Program D
Saturday, May 16, 7 PM
About the Writer/Director
Yu-Han Tsai is a Taiwanese writer, director, and producer based in New York. She earned her MFA in Film Directing from Columbia University. Her debut short film, The Tour, was funded by Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture Short Film Grant and later broadcast on Taiwan Public Television.
Her latest short film, Dua Ji, will have its World Premiere in the Narrative Short Competition at the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival. Tsai crafts emotionally resonant work that explores the inner lives of women, identity, and the quiet tensions between tradition and personal transformation. She is currently an in-house Senior Director / Senior Producer at ReelShort.
About the Producer
Jack Chang, from Hualien, Taiwan, embodies the spirit of independent filmmaking, documenting the physiological responses of people in various situations through simple yet powerful visuals. He takes on multiple roles–director, producer, cinematographer, editor, and art director–to craft a distinctive cinematic language. He produced the short film Liquid Love, which won Best Actor(Student) at the 2016 Golden Harvest Awards, and Safety First, which earned Best Actor at both the Taoyuan Film Festival and in the general category of the Golden Harvest Awards. In 2020, the television short Undercurrent, also produced by Jack, won Best Leading Actor and Best Supporting Actor at the GoldenBell Awards.
