In the past, she directed "Southern Port Ocean Chronicles," which gave Li Xiangxiu a basic understanding of marine ecology and sparked her interest in documenting Taiwan’s mountain forests. However, before filming "Black Bear Forest" and accompanying Huang Meixiu from the Wildlife Conservation Research Institute on mountain climbs, Li Xiangxiu was someone who would get out of breath just climbing stairs.
Before making the film, I knew very little about Taiwan’s mountain forests. So I told myself I had to first familiarize myself with the environment and overcome my fears.
"Before filming, I was very unfamiliar with Taiwan’s mountain forests. So I told myself I had to first get to know the environment and get rid of my fear," she said. Starting in 2010, Li Xiangxiu spent a year conducting field research and trained for mountain climbing to build her stamina. She also made multiple trips to Dabang to help overcome her fear of the mountains. To date, she has traveled to the Dabang area nearly 30 times for the film, with her most recent trip being in April this year when she returned to shoot aerial footage.
A documentary about Taiwan black bears naturally needed footage of the bears, but capturing them was a challenge. "I’ve encountered black bears a few times, but either it was too dark or the bears were alert, so the footage wasn’t great." Once, Li Xiangxiu happened to be in an area where the tree canopy was less dense and more light came through, and she saw a Taiwan black bear picking up fallen fruit from the ground—managing to capture clear footage of the bear. "At that moment, my camera was still packed away in my bag, not even in my hands. I guess when it’s meant to be captured, it will be," Li Xiangxiu said with a laugh.
From field research and filming to the final editing, Li Xiangxiu spent over six years completing the project, which will finally be released on December 9. Unfortunately, Lin Yuanyuan passed away in mid-June this year due to nasopharyngeal cancer at the age of 59 and was unable to see himself featured in the documentary. "I learned about his health condition last year. In June, before he passed, I quickly edited a version and showed it to him. I was also there at the end," Li Xiangxiu shared.