The Teochew Store Blog / France
Denis Do: Creating a bridge for all Teochew communities in the world
The Forest of Miss Tang (陳小姐的森林) is a 40-minute Teochew language animation film produced in France. It tells the story of a Teochew family over six generations in Swatow, China, asking the question, to leave or to stay? The Forest of Miss Tang is the first Teochew language film to be produced in the West. It was broadcast on ARTE channel in Europe on 10 June 2023 and it has since been screened in a number of film festivals around the world.
The Teochew Store managed to speak with the film's director Denis Do, a Paris-born Teochew, to find out more about his feelings towards the Teochew identity and the creation of his film.
专访｜导演杜来顺：电影为桥，连接世界各地潮州人
《陳小姐的森林》是一部在法国制作的潮语动画电影，它讲述了从十九世纪至今，一个汕头家庭绵延六代人的故事。它抛出了一个问题：“在社会剧烈变迁的背景下，我们是离开还是继续留在自己的家乡？”这部时长40分钟的动画电影已于2023年6月10日在ARTE（德法公共电视台）首映，这是潮语电影首次登陆欧洲。也在全球多个电影节的银幕上亮相，在各国的潮州社群中收获了不少好评和讨论。
潮舗特别连线本片的导演杜来顺（Denis Do），一位法国巴黎出生并成长的潮州青年,聊聊他对潮州人身份认同的经过，并运用于电影创作的过程。
Wa Si Teochew Kia – My First 120 Teochew Expressions: Kickstarter Campaign Update 6
此时此刻，我们的喜悦无法用言语形容！从项目策划，到词汇考究，再到绘图、图卡和视频制作，以及Kickstarter众筹页面和礼品的筹备，还有后期宣传……在要兼顾本职工作的情况下，我们这个小团队用了将近四个月的时间走到了今天这一步，实属不易。
Wa Si Teochew Kia – My First 120 Teochew Expressions: Kickstarter Campaign Update 4
We are grateful to Jeunes Teochew de France for helping promote Wa Si Teochew Kia – My First 120 Teochew Expressions in the French language on Instagram, as well as Singapore TeoChew Nang SG and Learn-Teochew for kind their assistance on supporting this project on Facebook. They are all actively promoting our Teochew culture and language, so do “like” and follow their accounts as well.
潮舗非常感谢Jeunes Teochew de France (法國青年潮州人) 用法语在Instagram宣传我们的项目——《我是潮州囝——精选一百二十潮语词语》。我们也非常感谢 Singapore TeoChew Nang SG 与 Learn-Teochew 在Facebook为我们的项目做宣传。他们一直在热诚地发扬和分享潮州文化及语言，请大家一起”点赞”并订阅他们的页面。
In recent days, we received our first backings from Thailand, Switzerland and Germany. Because of everyone’s support, we have crossed the 90% mark of our crowdfunding (yeah!).
近日，我们还收到了来自泰国、瑞士和德国的第一份捐款。因为大家的踊跃支持，我们目前已经达到90%的筹款目标。（开心！）
Continue to help us bring this project to life. Please click here.
请大家继续支持我们，一起实现这个项目，谢谢！请点击这里。
Wa Si Teochew Kia – My First 120 Teochew Expressions: Kickstarter Campaign Update 3
我们原计划在达到筹款目标的50%时为您更新进度。但想不到因为大家的踊跃支持，目前我们已经达到目标的三分之二！我们感谢来自新加坡、美国、澳洲、英国、加拿大、香港、法国与丹麦等地的募捐者，以及通过社交媒体和口头宣传，帮忙推荐这个项目的朋友。
Wa Si Teochew Kia – My First 120 Teochew Expressions: Kickstarter Campaign Update 2
《我是潮州囝——精选一百二十潮语词语》已经入选Kickstarter「我们喜爱的专案」。他们将在Kickstarter全站推荐我们的宣传活动。这是一个很大的鼓励！
Teochews in France
For over 200 years till the mid-20th century, Southeast Asia was the primary migration destination for the Teochew people. However, as the result of various wars and upheavals in the 1970s, tens of thousands of Teochew families in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos were forced to resettle again in France. Watch this documentary produced by Shantou Television in 1997 to hear the stories of how these Teochews who arrived in a foreign land as refugees courageously re-established their lives in Europe.
直到上世紀中旬，東南亞一直是潮州人主要的移民地。但因二十世紀七十年代的戰亂，數万個原定居在越南、柬埔寨和寮國的潮人家庭被迫二次遷移到法國。請看這部汕頭電視台1997製作的紀錄片，聽聽這群潮州人如何以以難民的身份勇敢地在歐洲找到新生。
“The Forest of Miss Tang" - An Upcoming Teochew Animation Film Needs Your Help
An animation film telling the history of the Teochew people, directed by a Teochew and dubbed entirely in Teochew language by 3 generations of Teochews living in France. How can you not be EXCITED?!
“The Forest of Miss Tang" (陳小姐的森林) is in an advanced stage of production and it needs funding support to be complete. The project has so far raised over €20,000 through crowd funding, but more support is still needed for it to be better.
The Teochew Store is lending our voice to this fund raising campaign as we believe this is a much worthy cause.
Watch the introduction video of the film by director Denis Do below (in French with English subtitles). To back the production of "The Forest of Miss Tang", click here for the project fundraising page.