The premiere of the documentary Beyond Beauty: Taiwan From Above (看見台灣) at the Kaohsiung Arena (K-Arena) on Wednesday, which attracted nearly 10,000 viewers, is proof that Greater Kaohsiung has become a film-friendly city, local officials said.
The Greater Kaohsiung Government’s Bureau of Cultural Affairs Director Shih Che (史哲) said that over the years, the city has endeavored to create a friendly environment for film production through efforts such as establishing the Film Development and Production Center and the Filmmaking Assistance Center, which have attracted hundreds of movie and television producers to shoot in the city.
“The city has also taken concrete measures to drum up support for the premieres of Taiwanese movies... The K-Arena is an ideal place for movie premieres and we plan to continue this promotional pattern to assist in the development of the nation’s film industry,” he said.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
Shih was referring to the assistance, including financial, that the bureau extended to prepare for the premiere of Beyond Beauty, a 90-minute film by Taiwanese director Chi Po-lin (齊柏林) that gives audiences a bird’s-eye view of the country’s beauty.
All revenue from the premiere are to be given to the movie production company.
Beyond Beauty is the second Taiwanese film to be screened at the K-Arena, following a special screening of the four-and-a-half-hour Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale in September 2011.
Tickets for both film screening events sold out shortly after going on sale.
According to a source familiar with the matter who requested anonymity, Chi originally planned to premiere his film at an outdoor venue, but decided to go with the K-Arena, an indoor one, after taking into account Shih’s suggestions.
“It turned out that Chi had made the right choice, as the K-Arena’s 23m-by-10m giant LED screen made the beauty of Taiwan look even more breathtaking than it already is,” the source said.
Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) announced on Wednesday that the government had purchased the rights to the documentary for use as an educational tool in 500 elementary and junior-high schools in the city.
That makes Kaohsiung the first city in the nation to include a movie in the school curriculum.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
RSS