Film Series/Exhibition/Talks

Taiwan New Cinema: Revisited

“O my prodigal son!
Now, and anytime, is the time to set off again wantonly.
Allow this isle and that isle,
To guide the land lying beneath the dark sea,
In sailing to your hand.”

 

“Taiwan New Cinema” is marked in history as a revolutionary movement. Its representative films have been canonized and recognized as important cultural assets of Taiwan’s film culture. Forty years since the movement, the dust has settled on the story of Taiwan New Cinema. Not only is the movement clearly defined in terms of period (1982-1986), but the affiliated participants and works have also been viewed as a whole.

 

However, for a long time, the revisits of New Cinema have often been restricted to a few films, while most films have not received the same opportunity to be viewed and interpreted. We have also discovered that apart from New Cinema, there were sporadic individual movements carrying out evasion, negotiation, resistance, and subversion under the regulation of the authority and the system. They were de facto seeking alternative cinema.

 

Inspired by CHIU Kang-chien’s poetry collection, Time to Set off Again Wantonly, we titled this film festival “Taiwan New Cinema: Revisited”, attempting to recall the rebellious and revolutionary spirit of New Cinema and to invite the contemporary audience to re-identify and rediscover New Cinema. We hope that in its 40th anniversary, New Cinema remains an energy field that continues its movement, formation, and expansion.

 

The festival presents four programs: “The Beginning of the Beginning: Before In Our Time” reimagines the birth of New Cinema, selecting films made before 1982 and therefore excluded from New Cinema. However, these films were singular in style, bold in awareness, and experimental in form. The “Rediscovering Taiwan New Cinema: 1982-1986” program revisits the canonical films made between 1982 and 1986, and those left out and forgotten during the canonicalization. “The Beginning of the End: Post Manifesto” screens selected films post the Taiwan Cinema Manifesto. Some filmmakers left the movement in search of new producing modes and taboo subjects to tackle, aiming to realize another pursuit of cinema. “New Image at the Margins: GHA Shorts Selection ” selects Golden-Harvest-Awards-winning shorts between 1979 and 1989, drawing attention to the other branch of films in the 80s so as to mirror and converse with mainstream New Cinema.

 

During the festival, we collaborate with different partners to organize 8 talks corresponding to various topics, perspectives, and aspects of New Cinema. We attempt to recall the formation of this cultural event and examine its components. Additionally, the festival also presents an exhibition of stills from Dust in the Wind (1986), displaying the never-before-seen stills in 35 years by photographer LIU Chen-hsiang, and reenacting the moment when New Cinema met new stills.

 

The New Cinema movement involved an immense and complicated history. This festival offers one route for reference; however, we believe there are many more ways to reconfigure the movement and obtain a plural vision.

 

Let this festival be a starting point for us to continually shift our attention from the center to the corners of history and the edges of time, and explore the unfinished “stories”.

 

Now, or anytime, is the time to rethink/rediscover/revisit/redefine Taiwan New Cinema.

 

｜Festival Date｜2022/09/16（FRI） — 11/27（SUN）
｜Tickets Sale｜2022/08/05（FRI） 12:00, by OPENTIX（www.opentix.life）
｜Venue｜Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute（TFAI）

The Beginning of the Beginning: Before In Our Time

The Beginning of the Beginning: Before In Our TimeFrom the 70s to the early 80s, the term “Taiwan New Cinema” had not come into existence, much less been coined. The era was dominated by political propaganda, films of three rooms (santing dianying), and social realist films (shehui xieshi dianying, aka. Taiwan Pulp). However, some directors ventured forward on the U-turn lane and fought solo. They either chose to infiltrate the system or tried to produce independently. Exploring in a guerrilla warfare fashion, the alternative cinema is outside of the mainstream and in between commercial films and arthouse cinema. This program selects four “New-Cinema-to-be” films. They were the scattered guiding stars in the night sky of history, ushering in a new wave of cinema. More

Rediscovering Taiwan New Cinema: 1982-1986

The years between 1982 to 1986 were more clearly defined as the period of “Taiwan New Cinema”. New filmmakers at the time were given more opportunities to work and experiment. They each left their own cinematic marks. Some of their films became representative of the movement and therefore enjoyed ubiquity. However, in fact, many films of this era never entered public awareness, and have thus been forgotten. This program revisits these five years, screening not only Taiwan New Cinema classics but also films left out of the mainstream. It explores films that could be broadly defined as Taiwan New Cinema, and their merits in topic, aesthetics, and expression. More

New Image at the Margins : GHA Shorts Selection

In 1978, the Golden Harvest Awards (GHA) was established with the aim of “turning the waning film industry around with the vigor of new films”. With its full name being the “Golden Harvest Awards for Experimental Films”, it was a much-anticipated and representative film competition. GHA provides an inclusive platform outside of mainstream commercial films, accepting different forms and genres. Looking back at the 80s, some filmmakers got their first recognition at GHA, and then entered the mainstream system and took part in the Taiwan New Cinema movement. Some others kept on making films, experimenting and reimagining cinema at the margins. This program screens 15 shorts corresponding to Taiwan New Cinema, presenting the alternative landscapes of 80s cinema. More

The Beginning of the End: Post Manifesto

In 1987, 50 filmmakers and cultural workers jointly issued the “Taiwan Cinema Manifesto”, questioning the government’s film policy, the responsibility of media, and the system of critics, as well as expressing hope for alternative cinema in the future. However, no longer embraced by the market, most New Cinema directors stopped making films after that year. Therefore, the declaration of the Taiwan Cinema Manifesto is marked as “the beginning of the end”. Only a few filmmakers chose to hit the previous lonely road again and face the new era of chaos. They boldly touched upon taboo subjects, seeking another kind of cinema. More