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 from 29 August to 8 September 2002, at Venice Lido in Italy. Chinese actress Gong Li was the Jury President of the main competition. The Golden Lion was awarded to ''The Magdalene ...

. His films won

Golden Horse Award for Best Feature Film The Golden Horse Award for Best Narrative Feature is presented annually at the Taipei Golden Horse Film Awards.Charles Leary''The People Are Missing: The 25th Taipei Golden Horse International Film Festival (and 40th Golden Horse Awards)'' In '' ...

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 and 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 (,), officially known as Chiayi City, is a Provincial city (Taiwan), city located in Chianan Plain in Regions of Taiwan, southwestern Taiwan, surrounded by Chiayi County with a population of 263,188 inhabitants as of January 2023. The H ...

. Both of Chang's parents migrated to Taiwan from

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

Mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

following the

Chinese Nationalists The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the sole ruling party of the country during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until its relocation to Taiwan, and in Taiwan ruled under ...

' defeat in the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

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 Hou Hsiao-hsien ( zh, t=侯孝賢, poj=Hâu Hàu-hiân; born 8 April 1947) is a retired Mainland Chinese-born Taiwanese film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a leading figure in world cinema and in Taiwan's New Wave cinema mo ...

Tsui Hark Tsui Hark (, , born 15 February 1950), born Tsui Man-kong (), is a Hong Kong filmmaker. A major director in the Golden Age of Cinema of Hong Kong, Hong Kong cinema, Tsui gained critical and commercial success with films such as ''Zu Warriors from ...

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 acclai ...

. 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 a ...

''. 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. According to the FIAPF, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals and the second largest film festival in Asia behind 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 initially denied the charges, but later admitted that he was completely drunk and blacked out. After DNA evidence was produced, he was sentenced to three years and ten months in jail. He began to serve his term of imprisonment on April 10, 2015. During imprisonment, he finished the short film ''True Emotion Behind the Wall'' with all the actors and other staffs being his fellow inmates in prison in 2017. The short later won the Taipei Film Awards for best short film. Chang was 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 In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that allows a neuron (or nerve cell) to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another neuron or a target effector cell. Synapses can be classified as either chemical or electrical, depending o ...

'' (那個我最親愛的陌生人) * 2022 : ''

Flotsam and Jetsam In maritime law, flotsam'','' jetsam'','' lagan'','' and derelict are terms for various types of property lost or abandoned at sea. The words have specific nautical meanings, with legal consequences in the law of admiralty and marine salvage. A ...

'' (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