Set in Taiwan and Hawai‘i, territories where the Austronesian family languages are spoken, TONGUES OF HEAVEN focuses on the questions, desires and challenges of young indigenous peoples to learn the languages of their forebears—languages that are endangered or facing extinction.

Four young indigenous women from divergent backgrounds collaborate and exchange ideas to consider the impact of language on identity and culture. With 96% of the world’s population speaking only 4% of the world’s languages, what does it mean to speak your mother tongue in this age of language homogenization? To put it another way, what do you lose when you lose your native language? These are just some of the questions that these women, with camera in hand, ask themselves, their families and peers.

Co-directors Shin-Lan Yu and An-Chi Chen from Taiwan, and Lei Kainoa Kaupu and Monica Hau‘oli Waiau from Hawai‘i, worked with independent filmmaker Anita Chang and field producer and Native Hawaiian educator Malia Nobrega to create this experimental documentary. TONGUES OF HEAVEN is part of ROOT TONGUE, an interactive documentary platform where participants will be able to explore the challenges of language endangerment and preservation on a personal level by sharing their own perspective through dialogue and creative expression. Users will also be able to access educational and community resources pertaining to language preservation. Visit the website here: http://root-tongue.com