Taiwanese director Yeh Tien-lun (葉天倫), whose movie Night Market Hero (雞排英雄) will soon be released in China, said on Wednesday he hoped the film would give Chinese audiences a glimpse of Taiwanese culture before they visit the country.
“Many [Chinese] want to visit this beautiful island, but since there is still a quota for independent travelers and they need to apply, I believe people who have not had the chance to come to Taiwan will be keen to see the film first,” the 36-year-old director said at a press conference in Taipei ahead of his departure for China to promote the movie.
“I can say Night Market Hero is almost like a promotional film for Taiwan’s night market gourmets. I hope the country’s night markets, cuisine and hospitality can be seen by more people,” he said.
Photo: CNA
It will be the first Taiwanese movie to open in China since the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) was signed in June last year. The agreement frees Taiwanese films from China’s import quota of 50 movies per year. Previously, Taiwanese films had to compete with other foreign movies for entry into the Chinese market.
Night Market Hero, which made NT$140 million (US$4.85 million) at the box office in Taiwan, is about a group of night market vendors whose lives are filled with petty rivalries and quarrels until they unite to save their market from a group of politicians and property developers.
The comedy will be screened in 14 major cities starting on Tuesday, including Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Guangzhou.
Photo: Hu Shun-hsiang, Taipei Times
The two leads — Blue Lan (藍正龍) and Alice Ko (柯佳嬿) — will also take part in the promotional tour to Beijing and Fuzhou, Yeh said.
“Many Chinese netizens have written on my blog that they have been looking forward to seeing the film after watching the trailer. They have also said they hope they can visit Taiwan soon,” Ko said.
Asked about what kind of box office performance he would consider successful, Yeh said he “would be satisfied with 10 million yuan [US$1.5 million].”
The rights to the movie have been sold to China’s leading distributor, Bona Film Group.
Cape No. 7 (海角七號), a Taiwanese film that screened in China in 2008, earned about 30 million yuan.
Yeh said 10 million yuan might not seem like a lot in China, but in Taiwan the movie would be considered a blockbuster.
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