Taiwan-born film director Ang Lee (李安), who won his second best director Oscar for Life of Pi earlier this year, is scheduled to return to Taiwan and share his life experiences at several forums next week, the Ministry of Culture said.
Lee is scheduled to take part in a press conference on Thursday where he will offer suggestions on documentary making, the ministry said in a statement.
Minister of Culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) is set to join Lee for a talk on the topic of “My Time and I,” which will be open to the public and broadcast live on television and the Internet on Friday.
Photo: Hu Shun-hsiang, Taipei Times
Lee has kept Taiwan close to his heart, Lung said in the statement, as his film career started with the support of several official programs funded by the government.
Meanwhile, Taipei’s Department of Cultural Affairs announced that a forum has been arranged featuring Lee on Monday next week, where he is to be joined by Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) and TV presenter Sissy Chen (陳文茜).
Chen proposed the forum after a meeting with Lee in New York late last month, during which the director said fragility was a driving force behind his works.
Hau said the capital is glad to have Lee share his experiences and tell people how he overcame the low points in his life.
People who want to attend the Culture Ministry event on Friday can sign up through the ministry’s Web site starting at 12 noon tomorrow.
Free tickets for the forum staged by the Taipei City Government will be available at the information counters at the Taipei City Hall and Zhongshan Hall starting at 9am on Wednesday. The event will also be broadcast live on cable news channel CtiTV.
Both events will be held at Zhongshan Hall.
In related news, US actor Will Smith said yesterday at an news conference in Taipei that he is keen to work with Lee.
“I’d love to work with Ang Lee. So tell him ‘hurry up,’ because I’m getting old,” Smith said.
Smith and his actor son Jaden arrived in Taiwan on Thursday on a four-day trip to promote their new film, After Earth.
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