Film directors from Taiwan, China and Hong Kong yesterday called for the establishment of a film production base on Kinmen replete with wartime legacies.
More than 130 filmmakers were on Kinmen to attend the 12th conference for directors. During a tour earlier in the day, they visited several former wartime sites dating back to the Chinese Civil War.
This wartime heritage is an important cultural resource, as is the island’s other main claim to fame — Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor — said Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢), who is head of the Directors Guild of Taiwan.
The directors also toured traditional residential buildings built by immigrants from China’s Fujian Province.
Hou suggested that the county government open a film school to help develop the industry on the island. Hou, who won a Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival with his A City of Sadness (悲情城市), also suggested establishing a database of potential film locations on Kinmen for directors’ reference. Finding enough extras might be difficult in a remote location with a population of just 113,111, he said.
However, Xiamen, just 10km from Kinmen in China’s Fujian Province, could provide the required human resources for film-making, he added.
Chinese director Lee Shaohong (李少紅) added that Kinmen could become a filming base for the three regions, even though there are no movie theaters there.
The participants in the conference, which took place on Friday at National Quemoy University, also tried using the broadcast system at a former wartime broadcasting station.
Hong Kong director Tung Shing Yee (爾冬陞) said the conference helped his fellow directors establish relationships and maintain friendships.
In the face of competition from South Korea’s film industry, Mandarin-language films need further development, Yee added.
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