For Taiwanese-American director Arvin Chen (陳駿霖), his new movie Love in Taipei (愛在台北) not only defines the Taiwanese capital as an unconventional romantic destination, but also represents an important step for Asian-American movies seeking to find a place in mainstream cinema.
Chen said he sees growing possibilities in movies featuring Asian Americans, adding that instead of more traditional topics such as race and family, those related to young adults, for instance, have managed to find an audience.
“The YA [young adult] genre now has an Asian version,” Chen said, adding that his movie has an all-Asian cast, while backstage staff from Asia, including from Taiwan, made a significant contribution.
Photo courtresy of Arvin Chen via CNA
Love in Taipei — which stars Ashley Liao (廖艾莉), Ross Butler and Taiwan-based television personality Janet Hsieh (謝怡芬) — premiered on Thursday in the US and Canada on streaming platform Paramount+.
Filmed in Taipei in late 2021, the movie is an adaptation of a novel by Abigail Hing Wen (邢立美) which tells the story of a young Asian-American woman who is sent from Ohio to Taiwan by her parents to study Mandarin in a cultural immersion program.
While there, she finds herself trying not to fall for two attractive boys who are vying for her attention, while simultaneously finding the courage to defy her parents’ high expectations and pursue her true passion, dancing.
The movie includes several of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, including the Grand Hotel and the Taipei 101 skyscraper, as well as many bustling night markets.
Chen, 44, earned a master’s degree in film production at the University of Southern California, and his film Au Revoir Taipei (一頁台北) won the Best Asian Film Award from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival.
He said that as an Asian American who grew up in California, it was difficult to imagine 10 years ago that movies of this kind could make it to streaming platforms.
Chen also praised Taiwan’s film industry as being highly established, making it easy for professionals from the country and the West to work together.
“It is something I am kind of proud of,” he said.
However, there were many challenges making the film in Taipei, Chen said.
Among them was the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant the crew needed special visas due to Taiwan’s strict border controls, said Chen,
Another great challenge was maintaining an American vibe in the movie even though it was filmed in Taiwan, he said.
Chen said he made Taipei look more romantic in the film, such as by shooting a night market scene at a studio in the city’s Bopiliao Historic Block in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華) instead of at a real market.
Still, his team drew much inspiration from the Taipei lifestyle, which made the story more colorful, he said.
“Since I visited Taipei to shoot movies in my early days, I have always felt that it is a city full of charisma,” he added.
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