The Taipei Representative Office in Greece and the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation have the pleasure of presenting three films produced in 2013 by the Taiwans Young Generation that are an example of the contemporary film industry of Taiwan.

 

The world community of cinema and the friends of cinema around the world are aware of the Taiwan Cinema from famous directors like HOU Hsiao-hsien, Edward YANG, Ang LEE, TSAI Ming-liang, who emerged during the decades of 1980 and 1990 from the New Wave Cinema, in order to excite and conquer the world of cinema.

 

From Thursday 29th of October to Sunday 1st of November 2015, at the Cinema Hall of MCF, the cinema fans will have the opportunity to watch films that show the continuity, the refresh and the enrichment of the Taiwan Cinema with young directors and youthful energy so that it can reflectthe hopes and dreams of the countrys youth.

 

 

• Thursday, 29th of October 2015, at 20:00
• Saturday, 31st of October 2015, at 19:00

 

Taiwan, 8.2.2013, color, Mandarin, with English subtitles, 125΄

 

Direction: CHANG Po-jui

Screenplay: CHANG Po-Jui, YU Shang-Min

Music: Fred LUI

Cast: KUO Shu-yau, CHUANG Kai-Hsin, Pink YANG, Belle YU, Hannah QUINLIVAN

 

The film is inspired by the real-life success of Jinmei Girs Hign Schools tug-of-war team that often won the World Indoor Tug-of-war Championship since 2010, it tells the story of the struggle and growth of a high-school athlete. One of its rival team from Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco was invited to Taiwan for the shoot of the final game.

• Sunday, 1st of November 2015, at 20:00

Taiwan, 4.10.2013, color, Mandarin, with English subtitles, 118΄

 

Direction: Vincent FONG (an acclaimed lyric writer, hugely popular in Asia)

Cast: Vivian HSU, Alan KUO, Ashton CHEN, Ginnie HAN, Josie XU (unfinished)

 

On a rainy day near the end of summer, singer Alan bumps into Ginnie, a hearing-impaired college student. He immediately falls for Ginnie, who reminds him of his first girlfriend, Sharon. However, as their mutual affection grows, Sharon, now a rock star, reappears in Alans life.

The films theme song won the Hong Kong Film Award Best Original Film Song.

• Friday, 30th of October 2015, at 20:00

Taiwan, 16.8.2013, color, Mandarin, with English subtitles, 145΄

 

Direction Screenplay: CHEN Yu-hsun (known for his award-winning 1995 film Tropical Fish)

Cast: Kimi HSIA, Tony YANG(Yo Yang), LIN Mei-Hsiu, WU Nien-jen, KO Yi-Cheng, KING Jieh-Wen

 

The movie tells the story of a roadside banquet chefs (caterers) daughter who tried to escape the family business; however, when her attempts to pursue a modeling career land her in trouble, she returns home and begins to rebuild her family business. The young female chefs relations with her parents, her interaction with 2 other roadside chefs will give audience a very complex taste of life.

 

 

 

Holo-language films based on traditional folk opera or modern melodramas found commercial success among domestic audiences in the 1960s. Around that same time, the Central Motion Picture Corp. began producing Mandarin-language films which were often pastoral and advocated civic virtue and morality. As Mandarin films came to prominence, Holo pictures dwindled in number.

 

The 1970s was the golden age for domestic films as their popularity spread throughout Southeast Asia. Romances based on Chiung Yaos novels found great success, and patriotic movies were popular as the country dealt with a series of diplomatic frustrations. At its peak, the film industry put out 200 to 300 films per year.

 

In the 1980s, some filmmakers began to seek creative outlets beyond the mainstream film establishment. Their creations—later dubbed New Wave Cinema – were noteworthy for blending innovative filming techniques with down-to-earth and sympathetic portrayals of Taiwanese life as well as trenchant social commentary. The movement produced two world-class auteurs, Hou Hsiao-hsien and Edward Yang.

In the early 1990s, a Second New Wave of films centered on contemporary life emerged. Key figures in this movement included Ang Lee and Tsai Ming-liang.

Local film production dwindled to about 20 movies per year in the late 1990s, but a number of surprise hits by young directors that explored formerly taboo topics such as sexual awakening re-energized the industry in the early 2000s.

In 2008, the heartwarming comedic romance Cape No. 7 set a new box office record for a domestically produced film, ushering in an era of revival. Subsequent hits include Monga, You Are the Apple of My Eye, Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale and KANO

 

Taiwans multicultural society, complex history, beautiful environment, unique aboriginal cultures and political freedom make it fertile ground for documentary filmmaking. In the mid-1980s, the countrys increasingly free political atmosphere gave rise to independent documentaries that not only lent voice to the disadvantaged and dissidents but also recorded defining moments in the history of the burgeoning democracy.

Since 2000, Taiwanese documentarians have incorporated more storytelling into their observation of social and environmental issues as well as grassroots figures, such as in Go Grandriders.