遇見齊柏林
Getting to know Chi Po-Lin 

曾經有一個人，克服懼高症，無數次飛上高空，只為記錄台灣土地；散盡家財，放棄退休金，只為讓更多人看見台灣的美麗與哀愁，這個人，叫做「齊柏林」。

 

1990年齊柏林導演進入國道興建工程局，開始透過空中攝影記錄重大工程，不但精進了拍攝技巧，也隨著工程的推進，對全台地貌有更多認識。一方面，讚嘆著台灣土地的美，一方面，卻也無可避免地看見更多傷痕正在造成。

 

在莫拉克風災後，  齊柏林導演辭去任職多年的公職，放棄差三年就到手的退休金， 用房子做抵押， 四處借錢籌款， 歷時數年，  耗資近九千萬， 完成了紀錄片《看見台灣》。《看見台灣》不但榮獲金馬獎最佳紀錄片獎，也喚醒了許多人對環境保護的關注，更讓政府推動許多具體政策來保護環境。

 

不幸的是，2017年齊柏林導演為《看見台灣II》遠赴花蓮勘景時，發生意外，與助手陳冠齊、機師張志光一起離開了我們。綜觀齊柏林導演的一生，始終熱愛這片土地，帶領無數人看見台灣的美麗與哀愁，相信此刻，齊柏林導演應該仍在天上，守護著他最愛的台灣。

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Once there was a man who conquered his fear of heights only to document Taiwan countless times. He spent all his money and gave up his pension so that more people could see Taiwan’s beauty and sorrow, He was Chi Po-Lin.

 

He entered the National Expressway Engineering Bureau in 1990. He was in charge of documenting the construction project. During the process, Chi not only mastered different photography techniques but also gained more knowledge and understanding of Taiwan’s landforms as the construction project progressed. When doing his job, as Chi praised the beauty of Taiwan, he also inevitably witnessed more and more wounds inflicted on this land.

 

After Typhoon Morakot, he resigned from his work as a civil servant for many years. He gave up his pension, which he would have become qualified to receive in three more years. He mortgaged his house to raise the funds for filming. After several years and spending nearly ninety million NT dollars, Beyond Beauty – TAIWAN FROM ABOVE was born. The documentary film was not just awarded the Golden Horse Award for Best Documentary Feature but also raised Taiwanese people’s awareness of protecting the environment. The government has consequently implemented various policies to protect our homes.

 

Unfortunately, during a flight to scout locations in 2017, Chi, his assistant Chen Kuan-Chi, and the pilot Chang Chi-Kuang sadly left us. Reviewing Chi’s life, his love for this land has led countless people to see the beauty and sorrow of Taiwan. At this very moment, we believe Chi is still watching over Taiwan, the love of his life, from above.