Chang Tso-chi (; born 26 December 1961) is a Taiwanese film director. His 2002 film '' The Best Of Times'' was entered into the

59th Venice International Film Festival The 59th annual Venice International Film Festival was held between 29 August to 8 September 2002. The Golden Lion was awarded to The Magdalene Sisters directed by Peter Mullan. Jury The following people comprised the 2002 jury: * Li Gong (Chi ...

. His films won

Golden Horse Award for Best Feature Film The Golden Horse Award for Best Narrative Feature is given at the Golden Horse Awards The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards () is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962 by the Governm ...

two times, for '' The Best of Times'' (2002) and ' (2010). Chang was arrested and charged with rape in Taiwan in May 2013. He was found guilty in June 2014, was sentenced to 3 years and 10 months in prison. He was released on parole on August 17, 2017. He served a total of 2 years, 4 months and 7 days in prison.

Life and career

Chang Tso-chi was born in

Chiayi Chiayi (, Taigi POJ: ''Ka-gī''; ), officially known as Chiayi City, is a city located in the plains of southwestern Taiwan. Formerly called ''Kagee'' during the late Qing dynasty and ''Kagi'' during the Japanese era (), its historical name ...

. Both of Chang's parents migrated to Taiwan from

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

following the

Chinese Nationalists The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Taiw ...

' defeat in 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 m ...

in 1949. Chang started his career in the film industry as an assistant photographer and then assistant director. He learned his craft from renowned directors such as Hou Hsiao-hsien,

Tsui Hark Tsui Hark (, vi, Từ Khắc, born 15 February 1950), born Tsui Man-kong, is a Hong Kong film director, producer and screenwriter. Tsui has directed several influential Hong Kong films such as '' Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain'' (1983), the ...

and

Yim Ho Yim Ho (Chinese:嚴浩) is a Hong Kong director most active in the 1980s, and a leader of the Hong Kong New Wave. He began his career making television programs for RTHK, then became a film director in 1980. One of his most critically acclaimed ...

. In 1988, he worked as Hou Hsiao-hsien's first assistant director on ''

A City of Sadness ''A City of Sadness'' () is a 1989 Taiwanese historical drama directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. It tells the story of a family embroiled in the " White Terror" that was wrought on the Taiwanese people by the Kuomintang government (KMT) after their ...

''. In 1999, his second feature '' Darkness and Light'' was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section of the 52nd Cannes Film Festival, and won the Grand Prix at the 12th

Tokyo International Film Festival The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. Along with the Shanghai International Film Festival, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals, and is considered to be the ...

. His third feature '' The Best of Times'' was entered into the main competition section of

, and won

Sexual crime

In 2013, a female screenwriter accused him of rape after a party at his studio. Chang denied the charges, but admitted that he was completely drunk and blackout. After DNA evidence was produced, he was sentenced to three years and ten months in jail. He began served his term of imprisonment on April 10, 2015. During imprisonment, he finished a short film ''True Emotion Behind the Wall'' with all the actors and other staffs were his fellow inmates in prison in 2017, and this short later won Taipei Film Awards for best short film. He's been released on parole on 17 August 2017.

Filmography

Features

* 1996 : ''Ah Chung'' (忠仔) * 1999 : '' Darkness and Light'' (黑暗之光) * 2002 : '' The Best of Times'' (美麗時光) * 2008 : ''Soul of a Demon'' (蝴蝶) * 2009 : ''How are you, Dad?'' (爸 ... 你好嗎?) * 2010 : ' (當愛來的時候) * 2013 : ''A Time in Quchi'' (暑假作業) * 2015 : '' Thanatos, Drunk'' (醉·生夢死) * 2019 : '' Synapses'' (那個我最親愛的陌生人) * 2022 : '' Flotsam and Jetsam'' (夏日天空的那匹紅馬)

Shorts

* 2011 : ''Sparkles'' (1949穿過黑暗的火花; Segment of the anthology film 10+10) * 2017 : ''True Emotion Behind the Wall'' (鹹水雞的滋味)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Tso-chi 1961 births Living people Taiwanese film directors Taiwanese rapists People from Chiayi