Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/09/22
By: Wang Ching-yi and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Sept. 22 (CNA) ” Lokah Laqi” (只要我長大), a film about three children growing up in a secluded

indigenous tribal village, will represent Taiwan to vie for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language nomination, the Ministry of Culture announced on Thursday.

In the film, the three children are very optimistic, energetic and playful; yet, they are also troubled by their own family issues. Their teacher opened an after school session to help them with their schoolwork.

The children find the teacher has a beautiful voice, but never sings. One day, they discover a cassette tape of their teacher’s recording and are amazed by her singing. They decide to take this tape to Taipei.

Upon learning that her film had been selected to represent Taiwan, the film’s director Laha Mebow (陳潔瑤), who is from the indigenous Atayal tribe, one of the 16 officially recognized tribes in Taiwan, said she was very honored and hoped “the subject of indigenous people can be seen by the world – a little dream of mine.”     [FULL  STORY]

A South Korean box office hit has set off a flurry of discussions about the state of Taiwan’s film industry.

The News Lens
Date: 2016/09/21
By: Olivia Yang

“Train to Busan,” a South Korean zombie apocalypse film, has set a box office record for South Korean

movies in Taiwan with a three-week gross of more than NT$300 million (US$9.5 million) since its Sept. 2 release.

The film’s success has prompted many Taiwanese critics to ask why the local movie industry has been unable to produce movies on this scale and of similar quality. And with Seoul announcing on Sept. 8 that the arts will become a compulsory subject of middle school education, many have attributed Taiwan’s relative incompetence to the lack of government support and arts education.

Wenchi Lin (林文淇), former director of the Taiwan Film Institute and current associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts at National Central University, told The News Lens International that this discussion has been on-going for the past 20 years.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: September 12, 2016

Taiwan directors Ang Lee and Midi Zhao were recently honored by London-headquartered International Broadcasting Convention and Federation of Film Critics of Europe and the Mediterranean, respectively, for their artistic talents and filmmaking skills.

Oscar-winning Ang Lee was awarded the 2016 International Honor for Excellence by IBC—organizer of the world’s leading annual broadcasting industry exhibition—at a ceremony Sept. 11 in Amsterdam. For over two decades, he has led the way in utilizing cutting-edge science in the creation of some of the very finest works of cinematic art like “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Life of Pi,” IBC said on its website.

Lee’s next work “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” uses a revolutionary cinematographic technique that establishes a new level of emotional connection with the on-screen characters while preserving artistic integrity over cinema and electronic entertainment market delivery formats, IBC added.     [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2016/08/31
By: Olivia Yang

Swedish post-rock band pg.lost landed in Taiwan last night, only to find out that some of their equipment had been sent to China.

Swedish post-rock band pg.lost landed in Taiwan last night for their Taipei performance this evening only to discover that a guitar and amplifiers had been sent to Xi’an, China, by mistake.

Around 11 pm yesterday, the event organizer, PutsSound, posted an “S.O.S.” on Facebook informing the public of the incident and asking for help to provide the missing equipment so that the band’s performance this evening could be held as planned.

Their request was answered within one hour of the post, with a Fender guitar and amplifiers provided by several Taiwanese bands.

Pg.lost will perform at 8 pm at The Wall in Taipei. This is their first stop on their Asia tour in support of their fourth album, which will be released on Sept.16. The band will then continue their tour in Hong Kong and China, and wrap up in Tokyo on Sept. 18.     [FULL  STORY]

GOOD-HUMORED:Japanese conductor Joe Hisaishi stopped the orchestra and waited for the garbage truck to finish its tune, before bowing in its general direction

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 23, 2016
By: Nien Hsiang-wan, Yang Ming-yi and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Garbage trucks on Saturday inadvertently disrupted a performance by the New Japan

Philharmonic World Dream Orchestra in the National Taiwan University Sports Center when they started loudly playing pre-recorded tunes that signal waste collection, sparking outrage from classical music fans attending the event.

The internationally renowned orchestra was performing in the sports center when the trucks came to collect trash and recycling, playing music that twice disrupted musicians, sources said.

City garbage trucks play Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fur Elise and Tekla Badarzewska-Baranowska’s A Maiden’s Prayer at each collection stop to alert residents of collection times.

The music reportedly surprised conductor Joe Hisaishi, who looked around the venue for its source before giving up and waiting for the tune to finish. He then smiled and gave a polite bow in its general direction before resuming the performance, a gesture that earned him applause from the audience.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-08-19
By: Maggie Huang, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

Ava Pao-Shia Hsueh, former director of the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts (NTMoFA) will be holding her solo exhibition “In Front of You” at Gallery 202 of the NTMoFA starting August 20th, showcasing 60 of her art works from 1984 to the present. In addition to 38 abstract paintings, which form the majority of the artist’s works, the exhibition will also feature paints and sketches, in a wide-ranging exposé of her art across the years. To hold the exhibition, Hsueh contacted previous buyers to borrow her works dating from the 1980s, giving the exhibition a thorough look back over the past 30 years.

At the press conference on Wednesday, Hsueh stated that a thematic idea is usually reflected in her art for three to five years, and although her work spans a wide range of styles, visitors may still discern a path as she transitions from phase to phase. Devoting much energy to her new painting Situation (2016), Hsueh has cemented herself as a female Taiwanese artist who dares to create abstract artwork at an unprecedented grand scale, and her attempts at broadening and deepening her material manifests her ambition of finding new potential and momentum for abstract art in contemporary times.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-08-18
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

All Taiwanese movie directors attending the recent premier of the Korean movie “TRAIN TO BUSAN” have made very positive comments on the zombie horror-thriller.

In TRAIN TO BUSAN, the protagonist starred by Gong Yoo is taking his daughter on a bullet train to visit her mother in Busan, a southern resort city, when a mutated zombie-virus breaks out in South Korea.

They are trapped on the suspicion-filled, blood-drenched train with a group of terrified passengers when a passenger, who has been infected with the virus, is on the same train and begins to spread the virus, causing many other passengers to turn into zombies. The thriller depicts how those who have yet been infected are fighting their way through the countrywide viral outbreak, and how the father is fighting against all odds to save his daughter.

After seeing the premiere, director Chu Yen-ping said, “The is the first time I’ve seen a Korean zombie movie, and it’s one that can make audience cry.”     [FULL  STORY]

Leon Dai fired from romantic comedy No Other Love, despite shoot having already completed, due to ‘ambiguous’ stance on Taiwanese independence

The Guardian
Date: 15 July 2016
By: Andrew Pulver

A Taiwanese actor has been dropped from the lead role in a Chinese film due to his alleged

support for Taiwanese independence – even though the shoot has already finished.

According to Variety, the team behind No Other Love, a romantic comedy directed by popular Chinese performer Zhao Wei (AKA Vicky Zhao), have fired Leon Dai after a recent statement from him on the issue failed to clarify his stance on the issue. A statement from the producers apologised for “hiring the wrong person”.

The statement said: “After multiple communications with Mr Dai, his stance was still unclear as of last night. Therefore, the director and all investors unanimously agreed to remove Dai from his leading role … The director and the entire crew dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to China. We are all Chinese, and we firmly support the one China policy. Our country’s interests are our top priorities … Any ambiguous stance over the country and national identity is intolerable.”     [FULL  STORY]