Seediq Bale, set for domestic release in September, is Taiwan's largest cinematic production yet. It tells the epic tale of Mona Rudao leading his tribe against the Japanese. (courtesy of ARS Film Production)

"Freaking out, I was completely freaking out!" Such is the response of Wei Te-sheng, director of Taiwan's largest cinematic production ever, Seediq Bale, of the challenge of filming such an ambitious project.

Before starting the project, he admits, Wei had little in the way of experience in handling the complexities of a film of such scale, so much of his time was spent simultaneously shooting and wondering what he might have to do if anything went wrong. "Fortunately we got through the whole process just fine."

Although NT$130 million of Seediq Bale's NT$700-million budget was covered by a strategic grant from the Government Information Office, finding the rest was no small challenge for Wei. But every step of the way has drawn more and more attention to the film, from the script through casting and location scouting, and finally that attention has started to pay off, with the film being accepted into competition in this year's Venice International Film Festival and having its Taiwanese release dates finally announced.

Telling a bloody tale of a group of Aboriginal warriors, the film has equally been a fight for survival for director Wei Te-sheng, as well as the realization of a long-held dream on his part.

Seediq Bale is named for a phrase in the Aboriginal Seediq language meaning "a real man."

After reading a comic book by Qiu Ruolong on the Wushe Incident some 12 years ago, Wei Te-sheng was touched by the story and decided it should be committed to film. To help in raising funds, in 2003 he spent NT$2 million shooting a five-minute trailer, which continued circulating on the Internet for a good five years. But the fundraising effort remained difficult, so Wei put his work on the script to one side to first film Cape No. 7.