Sometimes it seems that director Vivian Chang (章蕙蘭) would like to forget who she is.
As the great-granddaughter of Chiang Kai-shek (
PHOTO: CMPC
The 29-year-old director's Hidden Whisper (
PHOTO: COURTESY OF CMPC
The high school teen, Hsiao-bai (
"The name Hidden Whisper means secretive episodes of life. The words these three girls said at the end of each part imply three kinds of sentiment to themselves," Chang said. The film was well received by critics at Cannes and it went on to receive kudos at the Edinburgh Film Festival and at the Pusan International Film Festival. Many critics said the work was a rare Taiwanese film because it wasn't overwhelmed by a burdensome social or political message.
The film instead seems to track a person's gleeful dalliance with escapism.
When the 5-year-old Hsiao-bai listens to her parents' violent fights in the darkness, she fantasizes that they are instead dancing an elegant tango. Hidden in the subtext is the characters' desire to be anyone other than who she is. "Growing up I sometimes wondered if I was someone else, what kind of life would I be living," Chang said. As a student, Chang was often rebellious, sometimes in an attempt to shirk the expectations inherent in the family mantle. "At high school, I skipped classes to go to movies, go dancing and play volleyball, basketball, anything but books," she said. "I even changed my school record cards to pretend I was a good student for my mom. It was at that time I realized an unruly part of my personality."
Although her parents hoped she would study law, Chang chose to learn filmmaking at Boston University, after first earning a sociology degree. At the film's local premiere, last Saturday, her father said, "When we heard she wanted to study film in the US, we did have some reservations and worries about the idea." But he is well used to it now, and brimming with pride as his daughter is referred to as "Director Chang."
Despite her youth, Chang is an experienced producer of short films, getting her first break by working on Sylvia Chang's (
Since the CMPC is a KMT party-owned business it's easy to conjure up such speculation. One might easily assume that a film industry bureaucrat would try to curry favor with the KMT by showing generosity toward the young artist. It happened once, which brought Chang's family background into the spotlight, ultimately stunting instead of benefiting her career. She was offered a chance by CMPC to film an award-winning script, but because of the scriptwriter's insistence on making his own film and a rumor about KMT pressure, Chang rejected the offer to elude a possible backlash.
Asking about her family has been a taboo and Chang is well-known for her poker-face when it comes to her father. "Anyone who knows Vivian would know that she hates this subject," a CMPC official said.
But like the character in Hidden Whisper, Chang is resolving her problems, partially by taking on a new identity. "I am still learning what it's like to be a director," she said. With such a strong first outing at Cannes, Chang surely has great things in store once she gets the hang of it.
INFO: For more information, contact Mingson Chou at tel: (02) 2381-2742 or check out additional information at www.oriented.org/index.shtml.
WHERE: The Majestic Theater is located at 7F, 116 Hanchung Street, Taipei (
MISC: Chang will be present for a 20-minute Q&A session at the end of the two English subtitled screenings.
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