The Taiwanese documentary on body donation, THE SILENT TEACHER, by emerging Taiwanese filmmaker Maso Chen, will have its U.S. premiere with the director in person at this year’s Doc Fortnight on Friday, Feb 16, 2018 at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).
Maso Chen’s first full-length documentary, THE SILENT TEACHER, tells the story of body donation for medical training and research from the perspective of the donor’s family and the medical students who dissect her cadaver in anatomy classes. This deeply moving film captures an extraordinary level of respect not usually seen in Western medicine as the students delve far beyond the study of human anatomy and explore the deeper meaning that exists in love, life, death and the afterlife.
Selected for 2017 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival, this film will be presented at Doc Fortnight 2018, MoMA’s 17th annual international festival of nonfiction film, running from Feb 15 through 26, 2018. Visit MoMA for more information.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Maso Chen believes shooting documentaries is a way to help people understand each other and society. He is the first Taiwanese director to have worked with the Al Jazeera TV for My Father, My Mother.
FILM AND DESCRIPTIONS
The Silent Teacher
Directed by Maso Chen
Documentary / Taiwan / 2017 / 73 min. / In Mandarin and Taiwanese with English subtitles / U.S. Premiere
When Mrs. Lin, a beloved wife and mother, passes away, her husband and children make the difficult decision to donate her body for medical research. Defying Taiwanese customs that prescribe how to treat the body of someone who has died, Mr. Lin connects with the body donation program, whose members guide him through a full-year donation process. Periodically, Mr. Lin visits his wife’s body, talking to her, brushing her hair and trying to maintain a loving connection to her soul. The medical students embark on their own soulful journey as they prepare to accept Mrs. Lin’s body as their silent teacher.
>Showtime: Friday, February 16, 4:00 p.m.
>Location: The Museum of Modern Art, Floor T2, Theater 2 (11 West 53 Street, Manhattan)
*Followed by discussion with Dir. Maso Chen
PRESS CONTACT
For a copy of a press kit or to interview with Dir. Maso Chen, please contact Caren Wu at wth@moc.gov.tw or 212-697-6188 ext. 6
To interview with MoMA curators or other MoMA representatives, please contact Stephanie Katsias, Building Project Publicity Coordinator, Department of Communications, The Museum of Modern Art, stephanie_katsias@moma.org or 212-708-9401