10.30am – 4.30pm
Mechanics Institute Library, Bradford
Although it comes from the same roots as the perhaps more familiar cinemas of China and Hong Kong, cinema in Taiwan has developed differently, especially since the emergence of ‘Taiwanese New Cinema’ in the 1980s.
If you’ve seen a Taiwanese film, it may be one by the four international auteur directors, Ang Lee, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Edward Yang or Tsai Ming-liang.
Alternatively, you may remember the martial arts films or wuxia of King Hu from the 1960s and 70s such as A Touch of Zen (Taiwan 1971) or Dragon Gate Inn (Hong Kong-Taiwan 1967) which were distributed in the UK.
We will place these filmmakers in context and also explore other films from an industry that has had to change significantly over the years, because of both internal and external political, economic and social factors.
Our full screening will be Cape No. 7 (dir. Wei Te-sheng, Taiwan 2008) which combines several key features in one of the most popular films to appear in Taiwan. It refers back to memories of the Japanese occupation (1895 to 1945) and focuses on issues of generational differences, which come to the fore in an attempt to mount a music festival in a small town on the southern tip of the island of Taiwan. It is also a love story with great resonances for many audiences in East Asia.
We’ll try to explore some of the key aspects of the unique nature of Taiwanese cinema caught somewhere between links to Hong Kong and the United States, and the continued importance of traditions deriving from both the migrations from mainland China after 1949 and the links to Japanese cinema.
The relationship with the People’s Republic of China is currently very tense and the Chinese President Xí Jìnpíng is very aggressive towards Taiwan, which he considers to be a part of China.
Tea and coffee will be provided and you are welcome to bring your own lunch.
Tickets are available online and on the door but due to limited places, please let us know if you are planning to buy your ticket on the door.