Taiwan needs ‘passionate’ movie directors: award winning Hou

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/05/27
By: Leaf Chiang and S.C. Chang

Brussels, May 27 (CNA) Taiwan’s Hou Hsiao-hsien(侯孝賢), who just won the best director award at the Cannes Film Festival in France, said here Wednesday he is concerned that there are not many “passionate directors” with enough conviction to make movies according to their own standards.

“The Assassin” (聶隱娘) — a martial arts movie about a Tang Dynasty (618-907) woman killer Nie Yinniang — earned Hou a top honor at the French movie festival Sunday and premiered in the Belgian capital Wednesday.

Speaking to a group of Taiwan journalists, Hou said it is tough to be a director in Taiwan because of the pressure to create a box-office success while juggling one’s own convictions and the various views of movie companies and investors.     [FULL  STORY]