Me and My Condemned Son 我的兒子是死刑犯

75 mins | 2019 | Chia-hua Lee 李家驊

Prisoner A, requested ransom after committing murder of his friend. Yi-An Chen, murdered his father with 111 slash wounds. Chieh Cheng, committed a random massacre at the Taipei Metro. All 3 death row prisoners committed different crimes, yet in the name of justice, they are all given the same fate. The label of murderer supercedes their right as a human. The pain and voices of their families would never be heard.

The film centers around three condemned prisoners who committed different crimes, with one still serving his sentence, one who has taken his own life in prison, and one already executed. Consisting of unembellished interviews and news footage, the film shows the director's concern for the condemned prisoners and their families as human beings, examines the contemporary history of capital punishment in Taiwan, and furthermore questions the current judicial system.

死刑犯A，殺害好友後勒贖。死刑犯陳昱安，砍殺父親111刀。死刑犯鄭捷，於捷運上隨機殺人。「死刑犯」是司法給他們的一個標籤，但這三個人作為人的身分卻為人漠視，而至親背負之痛，更從來無人知曉……。

曾以紀錄片《起點》、《我無罪，我是鄭性澤》長期關注司法議題的導演李家驊，這次選擇了三位犯行各異的死刑犯為主角，有人尚在服刑，有人在獄中自戕身亡，有人已遭到槍決伏法。在「殺人償命」的正義大纛前，他們的命運殊途同歸，宛如報廢物件，但在律師、死囚家屬面前，標籤之後卻是一個個血肉之軀。全片以平實採訪片段與報導影像，不拘泥於法條本身，而是深刻表達導演對「人」的處境關懷，爬梳現代台灣司法死刑史之餘，也引出對現行體制的叩問。

Trailer

The film is sponsored by

Green Maple Law Group

本片感謝綠楓法律集團獨家冠名贊助

“Me and My Condemned Son” examines the topic around death penalty and human rights through the story of three prisoners. Through the perspectives of prisoners themselves, families, defense lawyers, and social workers, we understand their life journey and the flaws of the current judicial system.

Major criminal cases, such as mass murders, certainly impact the stability of a community, but it also fractures families of those involved. TFFB hopes to raise awareness of the topic of death penalty and human rights through this documentary and understanding the background context and motives. With more compassion and acceptance, we can always make progress to improve the well-being of our society.

本片主要是透過三段故事，來探討死刑犯人權的議題。導演透過死刑犯自身、家人、辯護律師、聯盟工作者,…等視角，去講述死刑犯的生命歷程，同時探討現有司法制度的缺陷。

重大案件本身固然對社會氛圍產生負面的影響，也同時造成不可逆的家庭遺憾。但透過紀錄片，我們能夠聽見受刑人的犯案原因與動機；看到受刑人身為一個「人」的本質，而不僅只是死刑犯的標籤。同理他們的際遇，看見台灣社會對此議題的人文關懷，像「裂縫」之於「光」。我們期待能夠透過電影的力量，喚醒更多包容力與同理心，和解本身即是社會最溫暖的一道光。

Director 李家驊 Chia-hua Lee

Lee Chia-hua was born in 1978 in Taipei. After graduating from the Department of Advertising at National Chengchi University and obtaining a PhD in Art Creation and Theory from Tainan National University of the Arts, Lee currently works as an assistant professor in the Department of Communications Management at Shih Hsin University and an independent documentary filmmaker. In 2003, “The Spirit of 8”, a documentary based on Lee’s own life experience won the Special Mention in the New Asian Currents at the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival and Best Documentary at the Taipei Film Awards. In 2011, he made “The Beginning”, which tells the story of how a murderer reconciles with his mother and it was what prompted Lee to take a strong interest in issues related to the judicial system. In two years, it was followed by a short documentary, “I Am Innocent, I Am CHENG Hsing Tse”, in which Lee expressed his support for the death row inmate Hsing Tse Cheng. In 2014, Lee participated in Sunflower Occupation, a project that documented the Sunflower Student Movement; his “24 Days without Sunlight” was selected for the Taiwan International Documentary Festival and the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. In 2016, Lee’s “For More Sun II”, a sequel to “For More Sun” directed by Jong-wang Lee, was released and received acclaim. In 2020, “Me and My Condemned Son” was nominated Best Documentary at the 2020 Golden Horse Awards and the Taipei Film Awards and was in Taiwan Competition at the 2021 Taiwan International Documentary Festival.

李家驊，1978年出生台北，政治大學廣告學系畢業，國立臺南藝術大學藝術創作與理論博士，現為世新大學傳播管理學系助理教授與獨立紀錄片工作者。2003年，以個人生命經驗為題的《25歲，國小二年級》榮獲山形紀錄片影展亞洲單元特別賞、台北電影節最佳紀錄片獎。2011年，作品《起點》描述了殺人犯與被害者母親之間取得和解的故事，導演由此對司法題材展現濃厚興趣，在兩年後又推出了記錄短片《我無罪，我是鄭性澤》，對當時仍在受刑的死囚鄭性澤表示聲援。2014年，他參與了紀錄318學運《太陽，不遠》的紀錄片計畫，執導其中的《看不見太陽的那幾天》，入選台灣國際紀錄片雙年展與山形紀錄片影展。2016年，延續李中旺導演作品《夢想無限》的續作《夢想續航》上映，獲得好評。2020年以《我的兒子是死刑犯》入圍第57屆金馬獎最佳紀錄片、台灣國際紀錄片影展台灣獎與台北電影獎最佳紀錄片。