Thirty Years of Lenses Capture Memories and Changes in Yangmei Old Photo Studio

Director Peng Chi-yuan spent thirty years bringing an old photo studio in Taoyuan's Yangmei into his lens, presenting a local memory forgotten by time. Since the 1970s, this photo studio has served as the social center of the Yangmei community, where countless families left behind smiling faces in photo albums, while also witnessing the community's transformation from an agrarian society to an industrialized city. During the filming process, Director Peng engaged in conversations with the owner, regular patrons, and neighborhood elders, weaving imagery and oral history into a feature-length documentary about memory and change.

Throughout this thirty-year filming journey, Peng Chi-yuan did not actively seek out the photo studio; rather, the subjects of the studio "came to him" spontaneously. According to his recollection, the owner had long held influence in the community, frequently organizing photography contests and community events while leaving stories behind every photograph. Once Peng Chi-yuan's name spread through the community, the owner and old patrons successively invited him into this space filled with a sense of history, providing numerous precious old photographs, camera parts, and handwritten album records. This passive collaborative relationship imbued the film with a greater sense of realism and highlighted the self-assertion of local culture in the process of being documented.

Peng Chi-yuan pointed out that this documentary is not merely a record of a single photo studio, but rather an excavation and preservation of the entire community's memory. With the popularization of digital cameras and smartphones, traditional photo studios have seen their customer base shrink year by year, with many old storefronts facing the risk of closure. Through his lens, Director Peng presents these soon-to-vanish scenes and figures to the audience, reminding people to cherish local cultural assets. The film features numerous conversations between the owner and old patrons, ranging from lighting techniques during photography to community festival celebrations, allowing viewers to understand the living pulse of this small town from multiple perspectives.

During the production process, Peng Chi-yuan also faced numerous technical and emotional challenges. Spanning a thirty-year timeframe, the director had to constantly adjust his filming techniques—from early film cameras to later digital photography—and capture changes in the same subject across different periods. More importantly, he needed to balance personal memories with objective narrative while respecting the emotional boundaries of the subjects, avoiding excessive dramatization or idealization. Ultimately, the film concludes with the owner's hopes for the future, calling upon the community and youth to jointly maintain this tradition so that history is no longer just a memory, but a living cultural asset.

Peng Chi-yuan hopes that through this documentary, more people will come to understand the local stories of Taoyuan's Yangmei and even the broader central region of Taiwan. The film has been screened at multiple film festivals and communities, garnering substantial positive feedback. Viewers expressed that what they see through the lens is not simply old photographs, but a microcosm of community cohesion, transformation, and hope. Director Peng's efforts remind us that cultural preservation is not merely about preserving objects, but about preserving emotional connections and shared memories among people. (Source Fact: Central News Agency)