Taiwan Cinema Renaissance 2020

Allow us to present the much awaited "Taiwanese Cinema Renaissance" for the first time in 3 years!
This year has been a prosperous one for Taiwanese cinema. The Taipei Film Festival has been held at the theater in July, and while the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival is also scheduled to be held in November as a live event, note worthy titles are arriving successively.

We’d be among the first to introduce such selections. “A Leg" starring Gwei Lun-mei, who is now one of the leading actresses in Asia, “Little Big Women", a family drama of a mother and three daughters living in Tainan, and "The Painting of Evil" which questions the relationship between the artist and the work of art. And also "Taiwan Equals Love" a film that takes a look at diverse couples. Please enjoy the four titles that focuses on “Most Current" of Taiwanese society. We plan to hold the online talks with guests of the films as much as possible.

Kenji ISHIZAKA (TIFF Senior Programmer)

A Leg

[腿]

Drama
Comedy
Romance

Produced by filmmaker Chung Mong-hong, starring Gwei Lun-mei and Yang Yo, {A Leg} is the debut feature of Chang Yao-sheng, depicting an unusual but heartwarming love story.

115min Mandarin, Taiwanese with English and Japanese subtitles 2020

©Creamfilm Production

Introduction

This story begins with a leg about to be amputated. The leg's owner is Zi-han, who thought he would be discharged from the hospital soon after his operation but develops complications and passes away unexpectedly. His wife Yu-ying is inspired to seek his missing leg. During the search, she starts to recall how he led her in a waltz when they first met, how they fell in love, and how their relationship gradually shattered. Retrieving the leg is how she tries to properly say farewell to the man she once loved. Only after that can she begin her own journey by herself.

Director

Chang Yao-sheng [張耀升]

Born in Nantou, Taiwan, in 1975, Chang Yao-sheng is a novelist who has won many literature awards in Taiwan. He is also a screenplay writer whose work {A Sun} was nominated in the Golden Horse Awards for Best Original Screenplay in 2019. {A Leg} is his first feature film, adapted from his parents' true story.

Staff

Director/Screenplay : Chang Yao-sheng / Producer/Screenplay :Chung Mong-hong/ Presenter: Tseng Shao-chien Presenter : Tung Cheng-yu / Cinematographer : Nagao Nakashima / Sound Designer ,Sound Designer: Wu Shu-yao / Editor : Lai Hsiu-hsiung / Music :Lu Lu-ming

Cast

Gwei Lun-mei
Yang Yo

Film data / Schedule

Little Big Women

[孤味]

Drama

On Sho-ying's 70th birthday, she receives the shocking news of her long-lost husband's death, and a merry reunion turns into an unfortunate time as the family faces their complicated relationships.

123min Madarin, Taiwanesewith English and Japanese subtitles 2020

Introduction

On Sho-ying's 70th birthday, she receives the shocking news of the death of her long-lost husband, Bo-chang. What's worse, there is another woman, Tsai, who stayed by Bo-chang till his last breath. A merry reunion now turns into a ten-day wake, an unfortunately perfect time for the family to face their complicated mother-daughter relationships. The three daughters remind Sho-ying of Bo-chang in different ways, and she goes on a quest to find out who Tsai is. Will Sho-ying get the closure she has longed for all her life? 　

Director

Joseph Chen-chieh Hsu [許承傑]

Born and raised in Taiwan, Joseph Chen-chieh Hsu participated in the production of over 20 short films in South Korea, Japan, Nepal, Singapore and Taipei. His short film {Reunion} won the Golden Award at the first Taiwan Short Film Festival in 2013. His short film {The Lobster Kid} (2015) received a post-production grant from NYU, and won the Best Short Film at Los Angeles Pan Pacific Film Festival.

staff

Director : Joseph Chen-chieh Hsu / Executive Producer : Liao Ching-song / Executive Producer : Vivian Hsu / Producer : Jacqueline W. Liu / Producer : Tiffany Yu-chia Chen / Screenplay : Huang Maya Cinematographer : Jon Keng / Production Designer :Julie Ying-te Chen / Costume : Zoey Su , Emma Lin

Cast

Chen Shu-fang
Vivian Hsu
Hsieh Ying-xuan

Film data / Schedule

The Painting of Evil

[惡之畫]

Drama
suspence

Bold and provocative, this film reviews the moral relationship between the art and the author, and the viewer. What I draw is a painting of evil, what you see is the evil of the painting.

82min Mandarin with English and Japanese subtitles 2020

©Positivity Films Ltd. & Outland Film Production

Introduction

Hsu Pao-ching teaches painting in a prison. He is astonished to meet Chou Cheng-ting and see his works of abstract art. Hsu convinces prison authorities to let him stage an exhibition of Chou's work. It turns out that Chou was the perpetrator of a killing, and the exhibition is eventually forced to shut down. Hsu decides to investigate Chou's past, visiting the scene of the crime and Chou's hometown. There, Hsu seeks out a place Chou had once told him of, a secret place from Chou's childhood with a painting on the wall — a painting said to have been the original source of the killer's artistic inspiration... 　

Director

Chen Yung-chi [陳永錤]

Chen Yung-chi is a Taiwanese director and writer. After many years working as a TV commercial producer, Yung-chi started creating his own stories and working as a director. His four dynamic short films reflect his emotions through the urban landscape in Taiwan. His works have been selected to Hong Kong International Film Festival, Tokyo International Short Film Festival, and Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival.

Staff

Executive Producer.Producer : Lin Shih-ken / Director/Screenplay : Chen Yung-chi / Cinematographer : Chen Chi-wen / Production Designer : Lee Tien-chueh / Editor, Casting Director : Jill Hu / Music Recording : Lin Shang-po / Costume : Sung Kuan-yi / Sound Recordist :Jean Huang

Cast

Easton Dong
River Huang
Esther Liu

Film data / Schedule

Taiwan Equals Love

[同愛一家]

Documentary

In May 2019, Taiwan became the first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. This documentary captures Taiwan's journey to that point and current issues focusing on three same-sex couples.

85min Mandarin, Englishwith English, Japanese and Taiwanese subtitles 2020

Introduction

In 2016, the parties of the Taiwan Legislative Yuan submit drafts on the marriage equality act but are confronted by anti-LGBTQ groups. Meanwhile, three same-sex couples are also facing their own family issues. Tien-ming and Hsiang have been in love for more than 30 years, but their love is being tested by old age and illness. Jovi and Mindy spend most of their time protesting for marriage equality, fighting for the rights of Jovi's daughter. A-gu flew from Macau to live with Shin-chi but is now struggling with finances and the pressure to come out to parents... 　

Director

Sophia Yen [顏卲璇]

Born in Taipei, Taiwan in 1978, Sophia Yen is a director, screenwriter and producer. She has devoted herself to documentary filmmaking for years. {Taiwan Equals Love} is her first feature documentary, discussing the issues of family, marriage and relationships for LGBTQ+ couples in the context of the path towards legalization of same-sex marriage in Taiwan.

Staff

Executive Producer:Jay Lin / Director : Sophia Yen / Producer : Yvette Chou / Producer : Tiffany Tsai / Creative Consultant : S. Leo Chiang

Cast

Jovi Wu
Mindy Chiu
Wang Tien-ming
Ho Hsiang

Film data / Schedule