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The cinema of Taiwan ( zh, t=臺灣電影 or ) is deeply rooted in the island's unique history. Since its introduction to
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
in 1901 under Japanese rule, cinema has developed in Taiwan under ROC rule through several distinct stages. It has also developed outside the
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
mainstream and the censorship of the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
.


Characteristics


Taiwanese directors

In recent years, Taiwan's film industry has received recognition due to a number of internationally respected filmmakers, such as Hou Hsiao-hsien,
Edward Yang Edward Yang (; November 6, 1947 – June 29, 2007) was a Taiwanese filmmaker. Yang, along with fellow auteurs Hou Hsiao-hsien and Tsai Ming-liang, was one of the leading film-makers of the Taiwanese New Wave and Taiwanese cinema. He won the ...
, and the Malaysian-Chinese Tsai Ming-liang. Important Taiwanese directors from the 1990s include Chen Kuo-fu, Tsui Siu Ming, and independent producer Huang Ming-chuan Lai.


Influence of the government

From the late Japanese colonial period to
martial law in Taiwan Martial law in Taiwan () refers to the periods in the history of Taiwan after World War II during control by the Republic of China Armed Forces of the Kuomintang-led Government of the Republic of China regime. The term is specifically used ...
, the development of Taiwanese film was dominated by the official camp studio development. The film produced during that stage was mainly news footage taken by the government-run studio (Taiwan film companies, the
Central Motion Picture Corporation Central Motion Picture Corporation (中央電影事業股份有限公司, or CMPC 中影 in short) is a Taiwanese movie studio. It was established in 1954 as a state-owned media organisation by the then Kuomintang of Taiwan. It has produced movi ...
, China Film Studio) and political propaganda. Even today, the Taiwanese government maintains a "Film Fund" to financially support the film industry of the country. The fund is somewhat controversial yet is still well supported. The Government Information Office is in charge of the film grant. Grants are divided into two groups of $5 million and $800 million. The production cost works out to be around a minimum of $120 million across 15 films. The application contains certain specifications to allow the correct amount of money to be allocated to a given film's production, for example the purpose of the $5 million grant is to encourage new directors directing a feature film for the first time.


Documentaries

In recent years, documentary films from Taiwan have also become more popular. The development of Taiwanese documentaries began after lifting of martial law in 1987 and the rise in popularity of small electronic camcorders, as well as the support and promotion provided by the Taiwan Council for Cultural Affairs. Documentaries also receive support from other government agencies and private corporations. A variety of film festivals and awards have been established to encourage the production of documentaries. Taiwanese documentaries often deal with themes related to the filmmaker or their family, and explore serious social or political issues. These documentaries have started to gain international attention gradually, and many have gone on to win awards at international film festivals.


Early cinema, 1900–1945

The first film was introduced into Taiwan by Toyojirō Takamatsu (; see 高松豐次郎) in 1901. Taiwanese cinema was the first, and from 1900 to 1937, one of the most important of Japan's colonial film markets during the era of Japanese rule. In 1905, Takamatsu raised 10,000 Japanese yen in donations to the Japanese military from the proceeds of films screened in Taiwan about the Russo-Japanese War. By 1910, the Taiwan Colonial Government coordinated the efforts of independent filmmakers such as Takamatsu and others to establish a more organized approach to the production of film in the colony of Taiwan. Films played a vital role in enabling the larger colonial project of imperialization or cultural assimilation of Taiwanese subjects into the Japanese empire. The first silent film produced in Taiwan was ''
An Introduction to the Actual Condition of Taiwan ''An Introduction to the Actual Condition of Taiwan'' is the first film ever made in Taiwan. It was commissioned by the Japanese authorities to director Toyojirō Takamatsu (1872–1952) in 1907, twelve years after Japan occupied Taiwan, as a pr ...
'', a propaganda documentary that Takamatsu directed in 1907. Takamatsu noted that early films were produced mostly for Japanese audiences rather than for local Taiwanese. Hence, early films tended to be educational in nature, lauding Japan's modernizing presence on the island. Other films catered to Japanese audiences exotic desires for Taiwan as a place of adventure and danger such as ''Conquering Taiwan's Native Rebels'' (1910) and ''Heroes of the Taiwan Extermination Squad'' (1910). Many conventions in Japanese films were adopted by the Taiwanese filmmakers. For example, the use of a '' benshi'' (narrator of silent films), which was a very important component of the film-going experience in Japan, was adopted and renamed ''piān-sū'' by the Taiwanese. This narrator was very different from its equivalent in the Western world. It rapidly evolved into a star system but one based on the Japanese system. In fact, people would go to see the very same film narrated by different benshi, to hear the other benshi's interpretation. A romance could become a comedy or a drama, depending on the narrator's style and skills. Lu, a famous actor and benshi in Taiwan wrote the best reference book on Taiwanese cinema. The first Taiwanese benshi master was a musician and composer named Wang Yung-feng, who had played on a regular basis for the orchestra at the Fang Nai Ting Theatre in Taipei. He was also the composer of the music for the Chinese film ''Tao hua qi xue ji'' (China, Peach girl, 1921) in
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...
. Other famous Taiwanese benshi masters were Lu Su-Shang and Zhan Tian-Ma. Lu Su-shang, is not primarily remembered for his benshi performances, but mainly for writing the inestimable history of cinema and drama in Taiwan. The most famous benshi of all was possibly Zhan Tian-ma, whose story is told in a recent Taiwanese biographical film, March of Happiness (Taiwan, 1999, dir: Lin Sheng-shing). Benshi masters frequently were intellectuals: many spoke Japanese, often traveled to Japan and/or China, and some were poets who wrote their own librettos for each film. From 1910, films started to be distributed with a script, but the benshi often preferred to continue with their own interpretations. Notable films during this period include ''Song of Sadness'' (, 1919), ''The Eyes of Buddha'' (, 1922), and ''Whose Mistake?'' (, 1925). Unlike Japanese-occupied Manchuria, Taiwan never became an important production market for Japan but rather was a vital exhibition market. Japanese-produced newsreels, shorts, educational, and feature films were widely circulated throughout Taiwan from the mid-1920s through 1945 and even after decolonization. As in Japan's other colonial film markets, the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific T ...
in 1937 marked the beginning of an era of enhanced mobilization for the Japanese war effort throughout Asia and Taiwan's film markets were purged of American and Chinese films as a result. The Japanese strove to transform the locals into Japanese citizens, giving them Japanese names, a Japanese education, encouraging them to wear Japanese clothes and the men to cut their long hair. Films such as ''Japanese Police Supervise a Taiwanese Village'' (1935) illustrated how "proper" imperial subjects should dress and act as well as promoting their superior farming skills thanks to the Japanese overlords. Taiwanese directors would vividly revisit the legacy of this process of cultural annexation in such films as Hou Hsiao-hsien's '' City of Sadness'' (1989) and '' The Puppetmaster'' (1993), as well as Wu Nien-jen's '' A Borrowed Life'' (1994).


After 1949

Taiwanese cinema grew again after 1949, when the end of the
Chinese civil war The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...
brought many filmmakers sympathetic to the Nationalists to Taiwan. Even then, the majority of films were still made in
Taiwanese Hokkien Taiwanese Hokkien () (; Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-uân-uē''), also known as Taigi/Taigu (; Pe̍h-ōe-jī/ Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-gí / Tâi-gú''), Taiwanese, Taiwanese Minnan, Hoklo and Holo, is a variety of the Hokkien language spoken natively by about ...
and this continued for many years. In 1962, out of a total of 120 films produced, only seven were made in Mandarin; the rest were made in Taiwanese. However, the production of films in Taiwanese began to decline due to a variety of reasons, ranging from limited scope and waning interest for such films, to the Nationalist government's promotion of
Standard Chinese Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern standa ...
in mass media and its deeming of Taiwanese as too "coarse". The last movie filmed entirely in Taiwanese was made in 1981. The 1960s marked the beginning of Taiwan's rapid modernization. The government focused strongly on the economy, industrial development, and education, and in 1963 the Central Motion Picture Corporation (CMPC; see 中影公司) introduced the "Health Realism" melodrama. This film genre was proposed to help build traditional moral values, which were deemed important during the rapid transformation of the nation's socioeconomic structure. During this time, traditional kung fu films as well as romantic melodramas were also quite popular. The author Chiung Yao is especially famous for the movies made in this time period which were based on her widely read romantic novels. Taiwanese cinema of this period is related to censorship in the Republic of China and
propaganda in the Republic of China Propaganda in the Republic of China refers to propaganda used by the Republic of China government and has been an important tool since its inception in 1912. The term '' xuanchuan'' ( "propaganda; publicity") can have either a neutral connotat ...
.


New Taiwanese Cinema, 1982–1990

By the early 1980s, the popularity of home video made film-watching a widespread activity for the Taiwanese. However, the Taiwanese film industry faced serious challenges, including the entry of Hong Kong films into the Taiwanese market. In order to compete with Hong Kong films, the CMPC began an initiative to support several fresh, young directors. In 1982, the film ''
In Our Time In Our Time may refer to: * ''In Our Time'' (1944 film), a film starring Ida Lupino and Paul Henreid * ''In Our Time'' (1982 film), a Taiwanese anthology film featuring director Edward Yang; considered the beginning of the "New Taiwan Cinema" * ''In ...
'' (1982), which featured four young talented directors (Edward Yang, Te-Chen Tao, I-Chen Ko, and Yi Chang), began what would be known as the rejuvenation of Taiwanese cinema: the New Taiwanese Cinema. In contrast to the melodrama or kung-fu action films of the earlier decades, New Taiwanese Cinema films are known for their realistic, down-to-earth, and sympathetic portrayals of Taiwanese life. These films sought to portray genuine stories of people living either in urban or rural Taiwan, and are often compared stylistically to the films of the Italian neorealism movement. This emphasis on realism was further enhanced by innovative narrative techniques. For example, the conventional narrative structure which builds the drama to a climax was abandoned and the story progressed at the pace as it would in real life. Due to its honest portrayal of life, New Taiwanese Cinema films examined many of the important issues facing Taiwanese society at the time, such as urbanization, the struggle against poverty, and conflicts with political authority. For instance, Hou Hsiao-hsien's '' A City of Sadness'' portrays the tensions and the conflicts between the local Taiwanese and the newly arrived Chinese Nationalist government after the end of the Japanese occupation.
Chen Kunhou Chen Kun-hou (born 25 July 1939 in Taichū, Japanese Formosa) is a Taiwanese film director and cinematographer. He is known for his film '' Growing Up'' (1983), one of the films that initiated the Taiwan New Cinema movement. Chen was also the cin ...
's 1983 film '' Growing Up'' provides a nuanced perspective on the experience of a very young boy, from an ordinary family, getting into progressively more trouble.
Edward Yang Edward Yang (; November 6, 1947 – June 29, 2007) was a Taiwanese filmmaker. Yang, along with fellow auteurs Hou Hsiao-hsien and Tsai Ming-liang, was one of the leading film-makers of the Taiwanese New Wave and Taiwanese cinema. He won the ...
's ''
Taipei Story ''Taipei Story'' is a 1985 Taiwanese film directed, scored, and co-written by Edward Yang — his second full-length feature film and third overall. The film stars Yang's fellow filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien and singer Tsai Chin (singer), Tsai Chin, w ...
'' (1985) and ''
A Confucian Confusion ''A Confucian Confusion'' () is a 1994 Taiwanese satire, satirical comedy film directed by Edward Yang. It was entered into the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. Cast *Chen Shiang-chyi as Qiqi *Yiwen Chen as Liren *Danny Dun as Larry *Hung Hung as Moll ...
'' (1994) talk about the confusion of traditional values and modern materialism among young urbanites in the 1980s and 1990s. His nearly four-hour film ''
A Brighter Summer Day ''A Brighter Summer Day'' is a 1991 Taiwanese epic teen crime drama film directed by Edward Yang, associated with the " New Taiwanese Cinema." The English title is derived from the lyrics of Elvis Presley's " Are You Lonesome Tonight?". The fil ...
'' (1991), considered by many to be his masterpiece and the defining work of the New Taiwanese Cinema, deals with Taiwan's struggle in the 1960s to find its identity after the Kuomintang took control of Taiwan and brought numerous Chinese immigrants to the new republic, who expected to return to China once the Communists had been defeated. The New Taiwanese Cinema films therefore create a fascinating chronicle of Taiwan's socio-economic and political transformation in modern times.


Second New Wave, 1990–2010

The New Taiwanese Cinema gradually gave way to what could be informally called the Second New Wave, which are slightly less serious and more amenable to the populace, although just as committed to portraying the Taiwanese perspective. For example, Tsai Ming-liang's '' Vive L'Amour'', which won the Golden Lion at the 1994
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
, portrays the isolation, despair, and love of young adults living in the upscale apartments of
Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
. Stan Lai's ''
The Peach Blossom Land ''The Peach Blossom Spring'' (, also translated as “(The Record of) the Peach Blossom”), or ''Peach Blossom Spring Story'' or ''The Peach Blossom Land'' was a fable written by Tao Yuanming in 421 CE about a chance discovery of an ethereal utop ...
'' (1992) is a tragi-comedy involving two groups of actors rehearsing different plays on the same stage; the masterful juxtaposition and the depth of the play's political and psychological meanings helped it win recognition at festivals in Tokyo and Berlin.
Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. Born in Pingtung County of southern Taiwan, Lee was educated in Taiwan and later in the United States. During his filmmaking career, he has received international critical and popula ...
is perhaps the most well-known of the Second New Wave directors. His early films '' Pushing Hands'' (1991), '' The Wedding Banquet'' (1993), and '' Eat Drink Man Woman'' (1994) focus on the generational and cultural conflicts confronting many modern families. His ''
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' is a 2000 wuxia film directed by Ang Lee and written for the screen by Wang Hui-ling, James Schamus, and Tsai Kuo-jung . The film features a cast of actors of Chinese ethnicity, including Chow Yun-fat, ...
'' (2000) revived the
wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted ...
genre successfully. Although not in the tradition of New Wave or Second New Wave, it is a commercial success which placed Asian films firmly in the international domain. The recent films '' Eternal Summer'' (2006), '' Prince of Tears'' (2009) and ''
Winds of September ''Winds of September'' () is a 2008 Cinema of Taiwan, Taiwanese film. Set in 1996 in Hsinchu, it focuses on a gang of teenage boys who drink, smoke and gamble, and the relationships between them. It broke a number of taboos in Taiwanese filmmaking ...
'' (2009) have pushed the boundaries of Taiwanese film-making and broken the island's long-standing
taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
s about the depiction of controversial subject matter. Taiwanese cinema faced difficult times competing with
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...
blockbusters in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Box office for local films dwindled to less than 20 films annually and many Taiwanese viewers preferred watching Hong Kong or Hollywood productions, causing the country's film industry to be dominated by foreign repertoire. Taiwan's film industry went into decline in 1994 and collapsed in 1997 because of the growing popularity of movie piracy. The high
box office A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is fre ...
takings of ''
Cape No. 7 ''Cape No. 7'' (; ) is a 2008 Taiwanese romantic musical drama film written and directed by Wei Te-sheng, his first full-length motion picture. The film is in Taiwanese and Mandarin with significant lines in Japanese. Before its commercial relea ...
'' (2008) by Wei Te-sheng and Taiwanese films after 2008 proved that the local film industry had recovered from its slump. ''Cape No. 7'' was so popular in Taiwan that on 1 November 2008 it became its highest grossing domestic film, second in the country's cinematic history to ''
Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unite ...
'' (1997). It raked in 530 million TWD (17.9 million USD) domestically, setting an all-time box office record for a Taiwanese film, and is currently the highest grossing Taiwanese domestic film of all time. It has won 15 awards to date, such as ''The Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year'' at the 45th Golden Horse Awards in 2008.


Revival, 2010–present

After the success of ''Cape No. 7'', the Taiwanese movie industry began to recover from a slump that had lasted for about 10 years. Some notable films that led the revival of Taiwanese cinema are '' Monga'' (2010), ''Seven Days in Heaven'' (2010), ''
Night Market Hero ''Night Market Hero'' () is a 2011 Taiwanese film. The plot focuses on the life of food vendors in Taiwan's night markets. It was performed by Lan Cheng-lung, Ko Chia-yen, and Chu Ke-liang. It won “best film” at The Guam International Film Fes ...
'' (2011), ''
Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...
'' (2012). The head of the Government Information Office stated that "2011 will be a brand new year and a new start for Taiwanese films". The director of ''Cape No. 7'', Wei Te-sheng's follow-up movie, ''
Seediq Bale ''Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale'' ( Seediq: ; literally ''Real Seediq'' or ''Real Men''; ) is a 2011 Taiwanese historical drama film directed by Wei Te-sheng and produced by John Woo, based on the 1930 Musha Incident in central Taiwan. T ...
'' (comprising a part 1 and part 2) was released in September 2011, with part 1 (The Sun Flag) being the 2nd highest grossing Taiwanese domestic film of all time and part 2 (The Rainbow Bridge) being the 7th highest grossing Taiwanese domestic film of all time. It was shown in competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival and it was selected as a contender for nomination for the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film in 2011 and was one of nine films shortlisted to advance to the next round of voting for nomination. Other notable films include: ''The Killer Who Never Kills'' (2011), which is based on a
short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
in the ''Killer'' series written by Giddens Ko. Additionally, the popular 2009
TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...
''
Black & White Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
'' resulted in two feature films entitled: '' Black & White Episode I: The Dawn of Assault'' (2012) (a prequel to the TV series) and '' Black & White: The Dawn of Justice'' (2014) (another prequel to the TV series but a sequel to the 2012 film). In 2012, Giddens Ko's romance ''
You Are the Apple of My Eye ''You Are the Apple of My Eye'' (, ) is a 2011 Taiwanese coming of age romance film. It is based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Taiwanese author Giddens Ko, who also made his directorial debut with the film. The film ...
'' (2012) earned about NTD 425 million, making it the 4th highest grossing domestic Taiwanese film of all time, followed by Fung Kai's '' Din Tao: Leader of the Parade'' (2012) which earned NTD 317 million, making it the 8th highest grossing domestic Taiwanese film of all time. In 2013, Chiu Li-kwan's film '' David Loman'' (2013) earned NTD 428 million, making it The 3rd highest grossing domestic Taiwanese film of all time. In 2015, female director Yu Shan Chen (a.k.a. Frankie Chen) released a film entitled '' Our Times'' (2015), which was the highest-grossing domestic Taiwanese film of the year, grossing over NT$410 million ($17.1 million US dollars), thereby making it the 5th highest grossing domestic Taiwanese film of all time. The film also starred Vivian Sung from another box-office success, '' Café. Waiting. Love'' (2014), the 11th highest grossing domestic Taiwanese film of all time. In 2014, Umin Boya directed a baseball film entitled '' Kano'' (2014), which ended up grossing over NT$330 million, making it the 6th highest grossing domestic Taiwanese film of all time. The 9th-15th highest grossing Taiwanese domestic films of all time are, in order: ''
Zone Pro Site ''Zone Pro Site'' (; lit. " Bandoh master chef"), also known as ''Zone Pro Site: The Moveable Feast'', is a 2013 Taiwanese comedy film directed by Chen Yu-hsun, starring Lin Mei-hsiu, Tony Yang and Kimi Hsia. Plot Wan returns home to Tainan w ...
'' (2013) (#9 with NTD 305 million),
Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. Born in Pingtung County of southern Taiwan, Lee was educated in Taiwan and later in the United States. During his filmmaking career, he has received international critical and popula ...
's '' Lust, Caution'' (2007) (#10 with NTD 280 million), '' Café. Waiting. Love'' (2014) (#11 with NTD 260 million), '' Monga'' (2010) (#12 with NTD 258 million), ''
The Wonderful Wedding ''The Wonderful Wedding'' is a 2015 Taiwanese comedy film starring Chu Ke-liang, Ruby Lin, Li Dongxue, Kou Hsi-shun and Lin Mei-hsiu. A meet-the-parents-of-fiancée comedy, it pokes fun at the cultural and linguistic differences between Kaohsiu ...
'' (2015) (#13 with NTD 250 million), '' Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above'' (2013) (#14 with NTD 220 million), and ''Twa-Tiu-Tiann'' (2014) (#15 with NTD 210 million). Taiwanese filmmakers have attempted to cater to the Mainland Chinese market, and any films released on the mainland must comply with
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
that often involves downplaying or removing any indicators that Taiwan is a separate country from China. Such films include Hou Hsiao-hsien's '' The Assassin'' (2015), Yu Shan Chen's '' Our Times'' (2015), Gidden Ko's ''
You Are the Apple of My Eye ''You Are the Apple of My Eye'' (, ) is a 2011 Taiwanese coming of age romance film. It is based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Taiwanese author Giddens Ko, who also made his directorial debut with the film. The film ...
'' (2012), and ''
The Wonderful Wedding ''The Wonderful Wedding'' is a 2015 Taiwanese comedy film starring Chu Ke-liang, Ruby Lin, Li Dongxue, Kou Hsi-shun and Lin Mei-hsiu. A meet-the-parents-of-fiancée comedy, it pokes fun at the cultural and linguistic differences between Kaohsiu ...
'' (2015). All of these focus on cross-cultural themes marketable on the mainland and other parts of Asia, while purposefully avoiding use of the Taiwanese dialect and common symbols of Taiwanese nationality, like the
flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...
. This is even the case in ''
The Wonderful Wedding ''The Wonderful Wedding'' is a 2015 Taiwanese comedy film starring Chu Ke-liang, Ruby Lin, Li Dongxue, Kou Hsi-shun and Lin Mei-hsiu. A meet-the-parents-of-fiancée comedy, it pokes fun at the cultural and linguistic differences between Kaohsiu ...
'', which relies on comedic misunderstandings between the families of a mainland Chinese groom and Taiwanese bride, but attributes them to cultural differences on the regional level not the national level, something that has been described as a 'political whitewash'. Despite this, the film was more successful in Taiwan due to the variety of Taiwanese dialect comedic puns on
Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language ...
words. Successful films that focus on Taiwan have therefore predominantly been independent, low-budget, and aimed at the local market, such as John Hsu's '' Detention'', which received five awards including Best Director at the
56th Golden Horse Awards 56th Golden Horse Awards () took place on November 23, 2019 at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan. Organized by the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee, the awards honored the best in Chinese-language films of 201 ...
.


Profit Sharing

Teng Sue-feng used ''Cape No. 7'' as an example to discuss how profit is shared in Taiwan. Teng estimated the revenue to be NTD 520 million, and the production cost to be NTD 50 million. After deducting costs, 60% of the profit goes to movie theaters, and 10% to the distributor. The director gets about NT$140 million.
he Chinese version is more detailed He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...


Film censorship

The first censorship in China under the
Beiyang government The Beiyang government (), officially the Republic of China (), sometimes spelled Peiyang Government, refers to the government of the Republic of China which sat in its capital Peking (Beijing) between 1912 and 1928. It was internationally ...
came in July 1923, when the "Film Censorship Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial Education Association" was established in Kiangsu. It became more persavive under the Nationalist government.


1949 to 1983

The ROC regained its footing in Taiwan, which was acquired from Japan in 1945 and the 1931 law still applies to the Fujian islands of Kinmen and Matsu. In 1955 (), 1956 (), and 1958 (), four more amendments to the law ensued without revising the main criteria. The law was renamed the Motion Picture Act () in November 1983, and expanded the censorship criteria to include the following: * Hurts national interests or racial pride * Violates national policy or government ordinance * Agitates others to commit crimes or disobey laws * Jeopardizes teenager or children's health both physically or psychologically * Disrupts public order or impedes good morality * Advocates ridiculous heresy or misleads public opinion * Defames persons of virtue from the past or distorts historical facts Article 30 of the 1983 law lowered the age cutoff line from 12 to 6 to dictate whether the viewing should be restricted or not.


1983 to the present

KMT practiced
martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Martia ...
until July 1987. After lifting it, the Executive Yuan, or through its now dissolved Government Information Office (GIO), promulgated regulations to carry out the said revised law starting in 1987 () and 1988 (). The then regulations revised the motion picture rating system, classifying films into three categories (General Audience/Parental Guidance/Restricted) based on age. The categories were expanded into four (General Audience/Protected/Parental Guidance/Restricted) in 1994 (). The film law rephrased the censorship requirement in June 2015. To control the rating system requirement from a legislative perspective, article 9 of the new Motion Picture Act (), promulgated by the Legislative Yuan, maintains that motion pictures and their advertisements shall not be screened if not granted a rating by the central competent authority which shall convene a rating commission to rate films. Members of the commission shall be representatives of government agencies, and scholars and experts having academic or practical experience in related fields. The commission's conclusions shall be made public and clear rationales for ratings given be listed. Article 10 maintains if motion pictures and their advertisements violate restrictions or prohibitions laid out in law, the central competent authority shall not grant a rating. The Ministry of Culture established by the Executive Yuan further specifies that not more than one third of the committee members can come from the Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development. The rating system was expanded into five categories on October 16, 2015 per regulations () drawn up in accordance with the Motion Picture Act. *0+: General Audience ( or ) – Viewing is permitted for audiences of all ages. *6+: Protected ( or ) – Viewing is not permitted for children under 6; children between 6 and 11 shall be accompanied and given guidance by parents, teachers, seniors, or adult relatives or friends. *12+: Parental Guidance 12 ( or ) – Viewing is not permitted for children under 12. *15+: Parental Guidance 15 ( or ) – Viewing is not permitted for those under 15. *18+: Restricted ( or ) – Viewing is not permitted for those under 18. Article 9 of the regulations specifically mentions the Restricted rating will be issued under the following scenario: Where the sale or use of illegal drugs, robbery, kidnapping, killing, or other illegal activities are detailed in the plot; where there is concern that such activity could be mimicked; where terrorism, bloody events, violence, or perversion are particularly vivid and could still be acceptable to persons over age 18; where sexual imagery or innuendo is portrayed vividly in animation, images, language, text, dialogue, or sound, but does not elicit feelings of shame or disgust in persons over the age of 18. Article 235 of ROC's Criminal Code also penalizes the distribution, broadcasts, sale, publicly displays of obscene video record.


Notable directors, actors and actresses

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Sylvia Chang Sylvia Chang (born 21 July 1953) is a Taiwanese actress, writer, singer, producer and director. In 1992, she was a member of the jury at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival. In 2018, she was one of the jury members of the main competition ...
* Chen Kuo-fu * Chang Chen * Chin Han * Charlie Chin Hsiang-lin * Jay Chou * Chu Ke-liang *
Gwei Lun-mei Gwei Lun-mei (; born 25 December 1983) is a Taiwanese actress. She started her acting career in 2002, with the film ''Blue Gate Crossing''. Gwei then appeared in a few more films before achieving wide recognition for the film ''Secret'', direc ...
* Hou Hsiao-hsien * Hsu Feng * King Hu *
Sibelle Hu Sibelle Hu (; born 4 May 1958) is a Taiwanese actress, singer and TV personality who starred in both Taiwanese and Hong Kong movies. She acted in many movies in the 1980s and 1990s and retired in the late 1990s. Life Hu graduated from Facult ...
*
Richie Jen Richie Jen Hsien-chi (, born 23 June 1966) is a Taiwanese singer and actor. He graduated from the Chinese Culture University's physical education department. His hits include "Too Softhearted" (), "Look Over Here, Girl" (), "The Sad Pacific" ( ...
* Takeshi Kaneshiro * Cynthia Khan *
Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. Born in Pingtung County of southern Taiwan, Lee was educated in Taiwan and later in the United States. During his filmmaking career, he has received international critical and popula ...
*
Li Han-hsiang Richard Li Han-hsiang (; 7 March 1926 in Huludao, Jinxi, Liaoning – 17 December 1996 in Beijing) was a Chinese film director. Li directed more than 70 films in his career beginning in the 1950s and lasting till the 1990s. His ''The Enchanting ...
*
Tom Lin Shu-yu Thomas Lin Shu-yu (; born 1976) is a Taiwanese director and screenwriter. After the critical success of his first two features, '' Winds of September'' (2008), for which he won Best Original Screenplay at the 45th Golden Horse Awards, and ''Sta ...
*
Ruby Lin use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = , burial_place ...
*
Brigitte Lin Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia (; born 3 November 1954) is a Taiwanese actress. She is regarded as an icon of Chinese language cinema for her extensive and varied roles in both Taiwanese and Hong Kong films. Biography Lin was born in Chiayi, Taiwan. ...
* Jimmy Lin * Joan Lin * Rene Liu * Sihung Lung *
Shu Qi use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinate ...
* Alec Su * Tsai Ming-liang * Wei Te-sheng *
Jacklyn Wu Jacklyn Wu Chien-lien (born 3 July 1968) is a Taiwanese actress and singer who began her career in Hong Kong. She graduated from Taipei National University of Arts. Career In 1990, Wu's acting career began. For her first acting role, Johnn ...
*
Nicky Wu Nicholas Wu Qilong (born 31 October 1970) is a Taiwanese singer and actor. He found fame in 1988 when he became a member of the popular Taiwanese band, Xiao Hu Dui (Little Tiger Team), performing alongside Alec Su and Julian Chen. The trio were ex ...
* Wu Nien-jen *
Jerry Yan Jerry Yan (), born Liao Yangzhen (), is a Taiwanese actor, model and singer. He is well known for his lead role as Daoming Si in the Taiwanese dramas '' Meteor Garden'' and ''Meteor Garden II'', an adaptation of a Japanese shōjō manga. He i ...
*
Yang Kuei-Mei Yang Kuei-mei (; born 6 September 1959) is a Taiwanese actress and television host. She has had starring roles in ''Eat Drink Man Woman'', ''Vive L'Amour'', and '' The Hole''. Yang has received several awards and a lot of nominations for her a ...
*
Edward Yang Edward Yang (; November 6, 1947 – June 29, 2007) was a Taiwanese filmmaker. Yang, along with fellow auteurs Hou Hsiao-hsien and Tsai Ming-liang, was one of the leading film-makers of the Taiwanese New Wave and Taiwanese cinema. He won the ...


Awards

* Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards (GHA) * Taipei Film Festival and Awards * Golden Harvest Awards for Outstanding Short Films * South Taiwan Film Festival


See also

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Chinese Culture and Movie Center The Chinese Culture and Movie Center () is a former movie studio and tourist attraction located in the Shilin District of Taipei, Taiwan. It is owned by the Central Motion Picture Corporation. In its early period, it functioned as a film and TV ...
*
Cinema of the world This is a list of cinema of the world by continent and country. By continent * Cinema of Africa *Cinema of Asia **South Asian cinema ** Southeast Asian cinema * Cinema of North America * Cinema of Latin America *Cinema of Europe * Cinema of Ocean ...
*
Culture of Taiwan The culture of Taiwan is a blend of Confucian Chinese and indigenous Taiwanese cultures. Despite the overwhelming traditional Chinese influence, Japanese culture has influenced Taiwanese culture as well. The common socio-political experience i ...
* Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards (
Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
) * List of Taiwanese actresses * List of Taiwanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film


References


Bibliography

*


External links


Chinese Taipei film Archive

Chinacinema.fr
A French site on Chinese/Taiwanese cinema
Database of Taiwan Cinema

Taiwanderful Taiwan Movie Guide
- A community index of Taiwanese movies.
Taiwan Cinema

Taiwan Movies
at GMOAT {{Asia in topic, Cinema of