Cross-strait relations don’t only come up in politics, but in the movie industry as well. And in this battle, the Chinese are at a disadvantage in the Taiwanese market.
The News Lens
Date: 2016/06/13
Chinese director Jia Zhangke’s (賈樟柯) latest film, Mountains May Depart (山河故人), failed to secure
Photo Credit : AP/達志影像
a spot in the quota lottery for this year’s list of 10 Chinese films selected for distribution in Taiwan, disappointing many local movie enthusiasts. But don’t lose hope: the film will be screened at a Jia Zhangke movie festival next month.
This situation reflects Taiwan’s unique regulations regarding the distribution and screening of Chinese films.
Each year, 10 Chinese films are selected for distribution in the Taiwanese market though a quota lottery that is open to the public. Forty-five Chinese films applied for the lottery this year; of those, 35 were left out.
In 2014, the Ministry of Culture (MOC) implemented a new policy that directly grants a distributing license to Chinese films that win an award at the Oscars, the Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and Berlin Film Festival. Winners in the best drama or best director categories at the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival can also be distributed without going through the lottery. [FULL STORY]
