In the remote highlands along the Thai-Myanmar-Lao border, an Indigenous Akha woman tells her life story, recounting her marriage to a Kuomintang (KMT) soldier; the flight of her estranged twin sister to Taiwan; and how her village came under surveillance. Her narration unfolds throughout Cetus Kuo Chin-Yun’s 85-minute film Because Watching Pacifies (2024), which probes the trauma that continues to affect the stateless Akha people in northern Thailand.

Kuo, based between Berlin and Taipei, creates research-based video installations and performances that mine the layered histories of diasporic and postcolonial experiences. She often develops her filmic projects on-site, drawing from fictional characters and plots that are inspired by actual people and historical events.