Recent Taiwanese films have drawn attention for their growing audience base and box office returns, seen by filmmakers as positive signs for the nation’s creative and cultural industies.
Since the 2008 movie Cape No. 7 (海角七號), a romance that generated the highest profits in the history of Taiwanese cinema, grossing more than NT$200 million (US$6.3 million), the local movie market has enjoyed something of a renaissance.
According to the Government Information Office (GIO), by the end of last month, the market share for Taiwanese movies this year had already grown four times to 8.24 percent or about NT$185 million, from the whole of last year.
In contrast, the ratio of Taiwanese movies to Hollywood movies in 2006 was 18 to 269, with local films generating only NT$43 million.
“We have seen fundamental changes in the Taiwanese movie industry,” said Nicole Chan (詹婷怡), co-producer of one of the latest Taiwanese hits, Seven Days in Heaven (父後七日), a satire that examines life and death through a funeral.
Chan was referring to a diversified film production mechanism that welcomes talent from a variety of backgrounds instead of the old system of closed-door conversations between artists.
Chan, who is also a copyright lawyer, said that “each new movie is just like a start-up company. People with different areas of expertise can share the know-how, make the shoots go more smoothly, and thus help the movie make more profit.”
Ten days after its Aug. 27 debut, Seven Days in Heaven had banked NT$23 million in Taiwan, compared with NT$30 million for Piranha, a Hollywood movie that opened in local theaters on the same day.
Local movies have proven their potential not only in terms of box office revenue but also in their artistry, through a wide range of topics and subject matter, local filmmakers said. Instead of the previous trend among local filmmakers of producing highly abstruse films that could be daunting for the general public, recent blockbusters have taken a more viewer-friendly approach, dealing with topics close to Taiwanese daily life and historical memories.
From the gangster film Monga (艋舺) and the pet-and-owner story In Case of Love (街角的小王子), to the black humor of Seven Days in Heaven, there have already been 23 local movies released this year compared with 28 for the whole of last year, according to the GIO.
This surge in Taiwanese movies shows that there is an increasing local awareness among Taiwanese audiences, which provides an advantage for the cultural and creative industries, Chan said.
However, if the momentum of local movies is to be maintained, filmmakers said, companies in the industry need to open dialogues in different areas.
“Innovation is risky and we therefore need more support from people knowledgeable in finance, law and technology,” said Wang Yu-lin (王育麟), who directed Seven Days in Heaven.
The idea was echoed by Frank Chen (陳志寬), director of the GIO’s Department of Motion Pictures Affairs.
While a cultural ministry will be established in 2012 to serve as a platform for supervising cultural activities nationwide, Chen urged the Ministry of Finance to also introduce tax incentives to attract more investment.
“We want enduring performances instead of instant classics,” he said. “That is why we are all in this relay race.”
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS