2021.3.26
Co-organized the first “Joint Awards Ceremony for Professional Excellence in Film, Television, and Radio” with the Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development and 6 audiovisual associations at Taipei Zhongshan Hall’s Guangfu Hall. During the ceremony, a video call was arranged with senior filmmaker SHA Rong-feng, who was residing in the US and celebrating his 100th birthday. The event brought together filmmakers of different generations to celebrate Sha’s birthday, symbolizing the passing of the torch.
2021.3.29
Held the 43rd anniversary celebrations at TFAI’s old address - 4F, No. 7, Qingdao East Road, inviting former TFAI directors, senior filmmakers SHIH Chun, HONG Ming-Li, and HSIAO Ya-chuan to attend and share their memories of TFAI. Chairman LAN Tsu-wei also held a press conference announcing the co-restoration of Dust of Angels, Ah Fei, and Emperor's Adventures in Hsi Hu - Let the Tradition Continue, and expressing gratitude to the family of late senior director CHANG Hua-kun for their contributions to the digital restoration project. Director WAN Jen, senior filmmaker CHUE Ming-yan, senior music producer NI Chung-hwa, actor Jack KAO, YEN Cheng-kuo, and singer Wu Bai were also in attendance.
2021.4.6
TFAI’s independently restored film Execution in Autumn by LEE Hsing premiered at the 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival, deepening the cultural exchange between Taiwan and Hong Kong and increasing the international visibility of Taiwan's restored classics.
2021.4.30
The 12th Taiwan International Documentary Festival (TIDF) kicked off at the Shin Kong Cinemas with the opening film Inside the Red Brick Wall, a documentary about the Anti-ELAB Movement in Hong Kong. Having been postponed for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, TIDF returned this year as a 10-day festival from April 30th to May 9th, featuring 200 screenings, 2 exhibitions, 2 theater performances, 2 live shows, nearly 10 forums and talks, and several post-screening talks at venues such as the Taipei Shin Kong Cinemas, the SPOT - Huashan Cinema, and the Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab. On May 6th, the awards ceremony was held, with Minister of Culture LEE Yung-te in attendance. Lee promised to support the future expansion of the festival.
2021.5
The book Fragrant Formosa about the TV documentary series “Fragrant Formosa” selected by TIDF, was published. It examines the significance of the “Fragrant Formosa” TV documentary series to Taiwan through subtle cinematic language and from different angles, including political and economic changes, nativist cultural movements, and animal welfare awareness.
2021.5.11
The 186th issue of the Film Appreciation journal received a whole new look. Published during the TIDF, it was displayed among special and new books at the Weekend Bookstand activity selling “film-related publications and audiovisual products”. The activity was co-organized by TFAI, Reading Times Publishing, Spring Hill Publishing, and Yuan-Liou Publishing.
2021.5.18
Co-curated the program “The Future of Museums: Revivals and New Outlooks” and co-organized online treasure-hunting games with the Academia Sinica Center for Digital Cultures on the May 18th International Museum Day.
2021.5.21
In light of the outbreak of COVID-19 and the nationwide epidemic alert being raised to level 3, TFAI held an online "Zero Distance Film Festival" on its official YouTube channel. The festival showcased digitally restored classics and documentaries, such as The Fantasy of Deer Warrior, The Best Secret Agent, The Homecoming Pilgrimage of Dajia Mazu, and Early Train from Taipei, hoping to accompany viewers during the stay-at-home epidemic prevention period. Viewers also had an opportunity to chat to each other in the online chat room.
2021.6.2
TFAI’s Taiwan Docs project, Taipei Representative Office in the U.K., and the Sheffield DocFest co-organized the “Memory Revisited: Focus Taiwan” program. The 7 diverse films selected for the program were curated by Wood LIN, Head of TFAI’s Division of Research and Development and Programme Director of TIDF.
2021.6.11
The relocation of the library at 4F, No. 7, Qingdao East Road was postponed due to the pandemic. The library would remain closed till October 29th, 2021, and was set to reopen on October 30th in the new TFAI building in Xinzhuang.
2021.6.18
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the operation of the Sightseeing Train, TFAI co-organized the surprise online screening of The Bride Who Has Returned from Hell with the Preparatory Office of National Railway Museum. The “Sightseeing Train” was the most luxurious train in the 1960s. Since its launch in 1961, the train became the top attraction appealing to international luxury travelers. The Bride Who Has Returned from Hell captured the Sightseeing Train in operation and the interior design, as well as Taiwan Railways Administration’s vintage tea cups.
2021.6.24
TFAI Digital Museum made the first batch of materials available online, including the information of Taiwanese-language films made between 1955 to 1981, as well as the record of theatrical releases.
2021.6.25
Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan’s annual brochure featured the introduction of cultural institutions such as TFAI, National Human Rights Museum, Taiwan Creative Content Agency, and Taiwan Literature Base, enhancing the Japanese public’s knowledge of cultural institutions in Taiwan.
2021.6.30
Co-organized the “Taiwan Cinema” film festival with the Cultural Division of Taipei Representative Office in Germany and the Swiss film association - tba Film Collective. The festival was held at the Filmpodium cinema run by the Zurich Department of Culture.
2021.8.5
After 5 years of construction, TFAI’s building in Xinzhuang, New Taipei City, was officially completed. The subsequent management and operation would be handed over to the Ministry of Culture, who would authorize TFAI to use the building. TFAI’s new building was expected to officially open at the end of this year. The "National Film and Culture Center" project was initially jointly proposed in 2004 by the Film Library and the Executive Yuan's Government Information Office in a presentation to the Taipei County Government. In 2016, the New Taipei City Government collaborated with the Ministry of Culture to start the construction. The construction began in 2018 and was completed in April of 2021.
2021.10.27
Held the “World Day for Audiovisual Heritage” events at SPOT - Huashan Cinema, screening CHEN Kun-hou’s 1987 film Osmanthus Alley (digitally remastered Taiwanese version) with a post-screening talk with Chen.
2021.11
Published the book titled The Journey of Image with a pun on “audio-visual journey” in Mandarin. The book is about the TV documentary program produced and broadcast by China Television from 1981 to 1982. Using "travel" as a narrative device, the program presents various journeys in Taiwan through audio-visual recordings and lyrical description. Unlike the traditional authoritative narration in storytelling, the program adopts a prose-like style that is lively, rich in emotions, and aiming to show the real lives of people. It opened up a new chapter in the TV documentary genre, which at the time was dominated by news, in-depth reporting, and preachy educational programs, and is considered an important work in the history of Taiwan documentary films.
2021.11
In order to raise public awareness of the importance of cultural heritage preservation, and to preserve and save “folk memory”, TFAI co-organized the “Return of Images” workshop with two major themes concerning two audiovisual mediums - “35mm film reels” and “VHS tapes”. The aim of the workshop was to introduce the process of film repair and restoration and allow participants to experience the process, in the hope of sparking more interest in the rescuing and preserving of precious historical footage.
2021.12.17
The “Raging Memories Film Festival – Tribute to Taiwan Cultural Association” opened as the first film festival held after TFAI’s relocation to the Xinzhuang building. DENG Nan-guang’s 8mm home movies and city street footage archived by TFAI, served as the opening film. The screening marked the film’s premiere after being scanned in high-res and digitally restored.
2022.01.07
The inaugural ceremony of TFAI’s Xinzhuang building was held with the attendance of President TSAI Ing-wen, Premier of Executive Yuan SU Tseng-chang, Minister of Culture LEE Yung-te, and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi, symbolizing Taiwan cinema entering the next phase with richer audiovisual resources accessible to the public.
