A Feature Documentary
THE ETERNAL CITY
Working title
Director: John Ross
Logline and Pitch Reel
A mixed-ability dance troupe in Taiwan prepares a demanding live performance with international collaborators, as individual members navigate disability, recovery, and daily barriers in order to take the stage.
Meet the members of the Resident Island Dance Theatre. Follow Ting-Yen through chaotic streets of Kaohsiung. Meet Jiahun as she rebuilds her life after a car accident. Feel the energy between dancers of different abilities. See how 枯木逢春 (chéngyǔ) and ancient wisdom become cinematic language. This is The Eternal City taking shape.
The Stories
Characters
Jiahun
A dancer who experienced a car accident in late 2025, resulting in a serious brain injury. Now out of a coma, she is relearning to dance and rebuilding her relationship with movement.
“When there are no limits, there's no difficulty—just being yourself.”
Ting-Yen
A young man with cerebral palsy who studied healthcare and fitness at university. While employment remains elusive, dancing has brought joy and purpose to his life. He is often the main character of the dance.
“I need to remind the world, this society, that I am a living person — just like you.”
The Stories
Characters
Carina
A Taiwanese-American wheelchair-using musician from San Francisco. She is composing the music for the dance show and playing it live with her ensemble.
“This isn't a niche piece by disabled artists — this is a strong, interesting piece by a group of talented people with a unique perspective.”
Zhong-An
The founder of the dance troupe. After seeing a show with a mixed-ability dance company, he was inspired to create something similar in Taiwan. He has taken the troupe around the world. He is blind in one eye.
“The barrier isn't the point—the point is how the body, any body, becomes a language that speaks beyond words.”
The Stories
Characters
Arwen
A dancer passionate about inclusion, often running workshops throughout Taiwan encouraging disabled and non-disabled dancers to dance together.
“It's a dance of shared tolerance and understanding — through it, I explore my own nature alongside the nature of others.”
A Liang
A banker by day, dancer by night. He came from very humble beginnings to build a full and prosperous life that bridges finance and contemporary dance.
“I told my children: if you are going to walk a path, walk it all the way — otherwise, do not take the first step.”
The Stories
Characters
Kinetic Light
An internationally-recognized disability arts ensemble. They are collaborating with RIDT to expand the movement vocabulary and physical possibilities of their next show.
Mr. Cai
One-handed calligrapher, our narrative voice. Known as the Calligraphy Farmer, he lost a hand as a boy and built a full and purposeful life, becoming both an artist and one of Kaohsiung's Model Fathers.
The Company
Who Is RIDT Dance Troupe
Resident Island Dance Theatre has created bold, experimental contemporary dance since 2010. Founded and led by visually impaired choreographer Zhong-An Chang, the company develops work with powerful energy and life force, addressing social phenomena through the body.
With groundbreaking performance forms and stage design, RIDT gives dance different thinking spaces. From a post-modern critical avant-garde perspective, they explore the pressures of capitalist society through body language, enhancing audience intuition, reasoning, association, and imagination.
The company has received numerous recognitions from Taiwan's dance industry for their original choreography that shows uncontrolled control—high technical skill within non-representational movement. Each year since 2010, they have launched new work that presents precious originality in contemporary dance.
Kinetic Light, an internationally-recognized disability arts ensemble, is collaborating with RIDT to bring new spectacle to their next show—merging disability aesthetics with experimental performance at the intersection of access, queerness, dance, and race.
The Concept
Structure
The film is structured around 枯木逢春 (chéngyǔ), traditional Chinese four-character proverbs that carry the distilled moral experience of generations. Each chapter opens with Mr. Cai Shuiyuan, a Kaohsiung calligrapher known as the Calligraphy Farmer, writing the chapter's proverb by hand in traditional script.
Mr. Cai lost a hand as a boy. He built a full and purposeful life from circumstances that could have defined him differently, becoming both an artist and one of Kaohsiung's 47th Model Fathers. When he interprets a chéngyǔ, he draws on personal wisdom, lived experience of disability, and a deep understanding of what it means to create when the world has not made creation easy.
His words are not narration in the conventional sense. They are foreshadowing. Ancient wisdom and contemporary struggle speak to each other across the cut. The calligrapher's brush and the dancer's body become two expressions of the same truth.
枯木逢春 → 大音希声
Withered tree blooming → The greatest sound is silence
Structure
The Three Acts
The film unfolds in three acts guided by 枯木逢春 (chéngyǔ). As the documentary takes shape in the edit, specific proverbs will be chosen to reflect the emotional and thematic journey we discover.
ACT I
Convergence
殊途同归 (Different paths, same destination)
The dancers gather from all over Taiwan to come together for the sake of the art.
ACT II
Artistry
行云流水 (Flowing clouds and water)
New physical partnerships are forged and new limits are reached for the pursuit of a great new show.
ACT III
Transcendence
珠联璧合 (Pearls and jade in harmony)
A refinement takes place before the world premiere. Painstaking practices, exhaustion in pursuit of excellence.
Cinematography
Visual Language
The imagery will lean in to the plant growth, and aged character of Taiwan cities.
Exploration
Themes That Will Be Explored
Personal journeys converging in unified performance.
Ancient wisdom guiding modern expression.
Beyond disability to human depth.
Building to transcendent conclusion (大音希声).
Progress
Production Status
Track Record
Initial proof of concept short film accepted into Academy Accredited AMDOCS festival.
Timeline
Block A
March 2026
FilmedKinetic Light arrive from USA, workshopping collaboration begins for the end of year show. Jiahun arrives home from hospital.
Block B
June 2026
UpcomingJiahun runs her first community workshop since her accident. More RIDT rehearsals as the end of year show begins to take shape.
Block C
August 2026
UpcomingMr Cai shares his life wisdom through his calligraphy. An update on Jiahun's rehabilitation milestones. Arwen travels across Taiwan with his dancing
Block D
October 2026
UpcomingKinetic Light returns from USA. Rehearsals intensify for the premiere of the November show at the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts-Weiwuying.
Block E
November 2026
UpcomingWorld premiere of the show.
June 2026 – Block B (Critical Production Phase)
What Is Needed Immediately
Block B is underway and partially self-funded. Additional support is required to execute scheduled filming and maintain continuity.
Immediate Production Requirement
| Category | Scope | Cost (NZD) |
|---|---|---|
| Taiwan Local Producer / Fixer | 8 shoot days + prep, coordination, translation, participant liaison | $4,000 |
| Local Travel & Internal Transit | Taipei ↔ Tainan, local transport | $2,000 |
| Accommodation (10 nights) | Tainan base during filming | $1,800 |
| Per Diems & Local Costs | Meals and incidentals | $1,500 |
| Hard Drives & Data Backup | Secure storage and backups | $1,500 |
| Equipment Contingency | Additional gear and backup | $1,500 |
| Production Contingency | Schedule and access protection | $2,000 |
Total Immediate Need
$14,300 NZD
Already Covered (Self-Funded)
- International flights (NZ–Taiwan)
- Director/DP time
- Core equipment
This interim request forms part of the wider $475,000 NZD production budget and represents early activation costs required to proceed with Block B filming while the full financing package is being secured.
Outreach
Production Budget
Total Production Budget
$475,000 NZD
1. Development & Pre-Production
$32,000- Research & treatment development$6,000
- Legal (co-production agreements, contracts, releases)$6,000
- Production insurance (development + production prep)$5,000
- Producer development fee$10,000
- Recce / advance production trip$5,000
2. Production (Taiwan Principal Photography)
$190,000- Director/DP flights (NZ–Taiwan, multiple trips)$20,000
- Travel insurance, visas, baggage$5,000
- Accommodation$25,000
- Per diems & local transport$12,000
- Director/DP$40,000
- Taiwan Local Producer (full production + coordination)$32,000
- Line Producer (NZ, part-time)$15,000
- Sound Recordist (verité/interview coverage)$18,000
- Interpreter / assistant support$10,000
- Equipment / kit / contingency$15,000
- Media / data storage / backup systems$8,000
- Permits / access / contributor support$10,000
3. Post-Production
$160,000- Editor (long-form documentary edit)$60,000
- Assistant editor$20,000
- Story producer / editorial consultant$20,000
- Color grading$12,000
- Online / conform$6,000
- Graphics / titles$6,000
- Sound design$12,000
- Final mix$10,000
- Composer (original score)$9,000
- Subtitles (multi-language)$10,000
- Accessibility (audio description)$5,000
Continued on next slide
Outreach
Production Budget (continued)
4. Archive / Rights
$20,000- Archival footage licensing$10,000
- Music licensing$5,000
- Legal clearances / contributor rights$5,000
5. Delivery & Distribution
$28,000- E&O insurance$6,000
- Legal (chain of title, delivery requirements)$5,000
- Festival strategy & submissions$10,000
- Publicity materials (EPK, trailer, stills)$5,000
- DCP / delivery masters$2,000
6. Overhead
$35,000- Production company overhead / fiscal sponsor fee (approx. 7–8%)$35,000
7. Contingency
$30,000- Production contingency (approx. 6–7%)$30,000
International NZ–Taiwan observational documentary. Minimal on-set crew to maintain participant trust and intimacy. Significant investment in post-production due to ethical and narrative sensitivity. Multiple travel blocks required to sustain access and continuity. Taiwan-based production support embedded across all shoots.
Deliverables & Audience
The Deliverable
90-minute feature documentary
Delivery: Q1 2027
Format: 4K, 5.1 surround sound
Accessibility: Full subtitles (English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese), audio description
Target Audiences
Arts & Culture Communities
Contemporary dance and theatre audiences, film festival-goers, documentary enthusiasts interested in creative process and performance
Disability Community
People with disabilities, families, advocates, and organizations seeking authentic representation of disabled artists
Mandarin-Speaking Markets
Taiwan domestic audience, Greater China region, Chinese diaspora globally—drawn to both cultural content and traditional philosophical framework (chéngyǔ)
Cross-Generational & Educational
Young people engaged with social justice and inclusion; older audiences connecting with wisdom traditions; universities and schools (disability studies, Asian studies, documentary programs)
Creative
Team
John Ross
Director / Cinematographer
Documentary filmmaker with a focus on stories of resilience and human connection. Previous work includes intimate portraits of communities navigating transformation.
Paula Whetu Jones
Producer
Experienced in international co-productions with expertise in documentary financing and distribution across Asia-Pacific markets.
Sasa Hsiao
Co-Producer (Taiwan)
Resident Island Dance Theatre representative coordinating local production, access, and community relationships throughout filming.
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Contact
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