The Taipei Film Commission has recently been established to encourage global filmmakers to choose Taipei as a filmmaking site. It would be great for the city, stimulating economic growth, providing international advertisement for tourism, etc. But the trick is making it good for filmmakers as well. The TFC hopes to streamline the process by acting as the primary organizational unit between filmmakers and city officials, taking care of filming permits, legal and safety measures, staffing, lodging needs, etc.

Case studies --

Olivier Assayas and Hou Hsiao-hsien talked about their experiences working with Paris city officials. Recent examples from Assayas Summer Hours and Hou's Flight of the Red Balloon were shown and discussed. Assayas said that filmmaking in Paris is a big bureaucratic mess, and you have to get a ton of permits and there are many rules that you have to follow, but you at least know that a system is in place to support filmmaking and ultimately, to make sure that filmmaking proceeds smoothly. Hou added that he could see Paris was a city with a mature attitude towards filmmaking. When he set up his camera and started filming, very few people bothered to look at the camera -- which is exactly what he wanted. He talked about filming one scene where the red balloon was trying to follow the boy at the metro station. He set the balloon loose on the platform and began filming. What surprised him is that people would simply bat the balloon out of the way and keep on walking, without looking at the camera. It was easy for him to achieve the kind of effect he wanted. He didn't want to close off entire areas and make a big scene -- a contrast to the methods necessarily employed by Jackie Chan, who was apparently filming a movie in Paris at the same time. Hou seemed happy with his time in Paris.

Hou went on to talk about his experiences working in Taipei. He actually hasn't worked within Taipei City very much, and he says it is only recently that he felt any desire to film within the city. Hou is truly committed to improving the Taiwanese film industry, but it seemed to me that he was expressing strong reservations and skepticism that this Taipei Film Commission would be a success. He stressed that just because the commission was offering up the city doesn't mean that other directors will take the bait. Even local directors know what a pain in the ass it is to direct a film within city limits -- anecdotal evidence by way of Lin Cheng-sheng and Edward Yang was well known in Taiwan directorial circles. He dared not say what it might be like for international film directors. Furthermore, he said there was a lot about Taipei that wasn't immediately admirable and desirable. Live in Taipei long enough, and anyone could learn to love it and see the beauty in its urban environs, he says. It's part of why he hadn't felt compelled to film within Taipei city until more recently. A short-term visitor isn't likely to really see what's lovable about the city, so Taipei is still going to be a hard sell.

According to Hou, what Taipei needs to improve is not architecture or traffic flow or even basic laws. Simply, he said that what Taipei needed to improve was its sense of civility. He raised a couple examples -- in Paris, though his permit said that he was only allowed to film from X to Y o'clock, he just couldn't get one particular scene right. He tried over and over, and those that were responsible for enforcing the permit saw that he was having difficulty getting the scene just right, so they let him keep filming past the time it said on his permit. This, he said, is a mark of civility. Taipei, by contrast, can be awfully uncivil at times. Everyone knows that you're not supposed to eat or drink on the MRT -- fine. But once he saw an MRT janitor reprimand a young man for bringing a capped, half-finished bottle of soda through the gates. The kid wasn't even drinking from it; the mere fact that she saw him bring it in was enough for her. Hou not only thought she was out of line, but also representative of some of Taipei's more uncivilized tendencies. That's exactly the type of stuff that foreigners will not and should not be expected to put up with.

Wang Ye-ming, director of Tea Fight, talked about working in Kyoto. In order to film in a historic city like Kyoto, he had to agree to work with an entirely Japanese staff. Their concerns were mainly preservational -- even something as standard as constructing tracks for moving cameras had to be done with utmost care so as not to damage areas of local historical significance. Unfortunately I had to leave shortly after he began speaking so I am unable to report more in depth on what he had to say. As a younger director, he was modest but also serious about seeing the situation improve for Taiwanese directors, both in and outside of Taipei.

Not a very good picture of Aphasia

Director/actor Lee Kang-sheng with two of the "betelnut beauties" featured in his film, Ivy Yi and Fanny.

Having spent a decade and a half as Tsai Ming-liang's personal "muse", how does Lee Kang-sheng break away? He starts, perhaps, from the personal. Which is not to say that this story is autobiographical. However, Help Me Eros might be described as Lee's attempt to use film to describe an emotional condition which directly affects him and his urban contemporaries, speaking through characters that other directors may not portray as intimately and as sympathetically as he does.

Lee plays the main character, Ah Jie, a young man driven to depression by his failed stock market risks and love life. He bought a beautiful apartment in downtown Kaohsiung when his fortunes were better, but now that his stocks have crashed, he's been forced to pawn nearly all his belongings, save for a little indoors greenhouse in which he grows marijuana -- about the only activity he is able to put any real effort into. In moments of desperation, he dials a suicide prevention hotline, never aware that the woman in charge of his case, Chyi, is rather unhappy as well. Ah Jie fantasizes about Chyi, but happens into a relationship with Shin, the new betelnut girl at the roadside stand beneath his apartment. Just about everyone in this film is desperately trying to fill psychological voids through acts of consumption -- eating, buying designer goods, or having lots and lots of sex. Lee manages to reveal the underlying cruelty and desperation beneath these acts, often using imagery that is paradoxically colorful, whimsical, and seductive.

What surprised me is that Lee Kang-sheng admitted that the film was perhaps too personal -- that its cryptic digressions were at times too self-indulgent. This refusal to narrate, to dictate is definitely similar to Tsai Ming-liang (whom Lee admits helped a little too much with this film). I can understand where he's coming from, in a way -- for the lost and the "missing" as in his first film, the assured conclusions that outsiders might offer often seem offensively fake in contrast. Sometimes when you're that low, the last thing you need is for someone to tell you that everything will get better because when it comes down to it, others are just as clueless about the future as you are. Ultimately, this is an introvert's story, which doesn't exactly make sense when you're talking about a mass medium like film. I guess if you've felt that way before, you'll get it. But even if you get it, you may not like it, especially if you're not interested in wallowing.

Ms. Cupid [丘比特女孩]. Dir. Arrow Peng [彭之軒]. National Taiwan University of Arts: 2008.

Rain, a sweet and chirpy young lady, has the special ability to see red "spirit" threads which connect couples in love. Realizing that she also possesses the power to manipulate these threads, Rain does her best friend a favor by hooking her up with the guy she has a crush on. She seems satisfied with her ability to play "Ms. Cupid" until she herself meets someone that she desires. She is able to see the red threads that connect every couple in the world -- except her and the object of her own desire.

A visually appealing movie, with artistic direction by Jimmy Lin. However, the imagery suffered from having been shot in DigiBeta, because the version projected on the big screen was embarrassingly pixellated. Poor acting and rough pacing made it seem amateurish as well. Most two-person dialogues were filmed as shot-reverse shot exchanges, and even I got tired of looking straight on at the face of the main actress, as cute as she was. I was also a bit offended that this fluffy romantic comedy was crafted as something that was supposed to appeal to women. Overall I thought it too cutesy, cheap and superficial, and the director's admission that the bulk of the story had been his producer's idea, with a female target audience in mind, made it seem even more hollow at the end.

The End of the Tunnel [天黑]. Dir. CHANG Rong-ji [張榮吉]. Perf. Sandrine Pinna [張榕容], HUANG Yu-xiang. 2007.

Yu-xiang lost his eyesight when he was a young boy. In spite of his physical loss, he developed a rare depth of emotion and musical talent. A pianist at an art school, Yu-xiang connects with a female classmate at first through music, and then through friendship. A sweet and brilliantly narrated story. Director Chang Rong-ji displays a keen understanding of filmic narration, and I admire his blending of documentary and dramatic genres, black and white and color footage. Like the previous film, this short was filmed in DigiBeta but not once did Chang seem limited by his equipment. The result was visually, emotionally, and even musically arresting.

The two characters were quite well cast. Huang Yu-xiang basically plays himself. Chang had met Huang when he was doing documentary work, and his story inspired this script. According to Chang, Sandrine Pinna, who has previously caught my eye in Do Over, shines in her ability to respond to the other actors she's matched with. You definitely see that in this film.

Family Viewing [闔家觀賞]. Dir. KUO Cheng-chu [郭承衢]. Perf. 桂綸美, 李天柱, 陸奕靜. Ananda: 2008.

A French cameraman steps into a Taiwanese family's home to record the life of a "typical" Taiwanese family for a French reality show. The daughter, father, and mother are excited to participate, but it's not easy to always put on a happy face for the camera...

A very interesting film with a thoughtful script and clear narration. The director was able to procure funds both from French and Taiwanese producers, allowing him to actualize this story in 35mm film -- a detail he insisted on, and a choice which paid off. He also managed to get Lu Yi-Ching for the role of the mom. She's brilliant as always, and it's nice to see her outside of a Tsai Ming-liang/Lee Kang-sheng film.

I was all set to give the previous film, End of the Tunnel, the only top score of the lot in order to boost its chances of winning, but I found myself compelled to give this film a top score as well. These two directors are ones to keep an eye on.

Summer of Magic [光之夏]. Dir. WANG Cheng-Yang [王承洋]. 2007.

Ah Hong, spending a summer with grandma, raises a cat, tries to take piano lessons, and is visited by late night spirits and strange dreams. Nostalgic, slow, moody -- nice effects achieved with black and white film. I thought some of the music was much too intrusive and disrupted the mood of the film, but overall it was pretty nice.

Temptation [勾引]. Dir. Josh Yeh [葉佳鑫]. 2007.

Love and longing as expressed through culinary masterpieces. The filmmakers tried to make this appeal to a wider audience by casting stunningly good-looking actors and actresses, but some of the acting was so bad, audible group guffawing was heard at points. Go to admire the dishes, not the predictable plot or personality-less characters and soulless acting.

Perhaps one of the most earnest films I've seen yet at the festival. Deserves to be seen. Will come back to explain why, later.

Following in the footsteps of successful documentaries like Jump! Boys [whose director Lin Yu-Hsien was in attendance at this sold-out screening], directors Shen and Liao follow a baseball team consisting of elementary school students, mostly aboriginal boys, from Fuyuan Elementary School. These fifth and sixth grade boys, just on the cusp of adolescence, are prepared to give their all at the annual youth league playoffs.

( cut for spoilers )

Patch of Dream. Dir. Allen Wen Yau [姚竣升], William Chen [陳威戎], Han-Feng Chan [詹函峰], Boyce Huang [黃偉翔]. Digital Content Institute: 2007.

A seamstress granny sews a magical hot air balloon and lets her sewing needle take her to new heights.

River [Liu, 流]. Dir. TSAI Chih-we [蔡志維]. 2007.

A pug-faced character who lives in a gloomy factory town built on the back of a giant flying whale uses his imagination and resourcefulness to escape his oppressive environment.

I don't understand why it's called "River".

The Forgotten Treasure [遺忘的寶藏]. Dir. CHIU Li-wei [丘立偉]. 2007.

Legend has it that when Japan surrendered Taiwan, those who were forced to depart in a hurry buried many hidden treasures all over the island. From this fanciful historical premise, Chiu developed a longer animated piece (at 22 minutes, this was the longest short in the set) that aims to please children but also hopes to demonstrate the animator's own artistic style. The character designs did indeed appear more like hand-drawn comic art, which I appreciated. Setting every line of dialogue to musical score was a bit much though.

The director-animator expressed his desire to turn this into a feature-length animation. I would recommend not setting the entire thing to music, as a poorly-written musical score would enhance the imperfections of a film and make the entire thing even more grating.

Fragrance of Memory [回憶的味道]. Dir. WU Chia-chuan [吳佳娟]. 2007.

Puppet animation. The story, animation, and character designs were a bit crude, but the director did manage to create a rather detailed dollhouse setting. Some interesting shots through, where the camera passes through doorways and whatnot.

Landscape Tour [山水歷]. Dir. MA Kuang-pei [馬匡霈]. 2007. *

Probably the most innovative use of the medium out of any of the films -- Ma based this animation on horizontal-scroll paintings and animates poetic and idiomatic fragments. The overall effect is something like an animated postcard, and not much more; the idea could've been pushed even further, but for a 2-minute long experimental short, I guess we can't expect much more.

The Chess [棋局]. Dir. CHEN Po-Chin [陳柏欽]. 2007.

Poor little pawn piece tries to escape the giant hand.

Fuji Shogun [富士將軍]. Dir. Christy Chang [張祖綺]. 2008. *

Creative and cute story told from the point of view of one of the plates of sushi sitting on a sushi conveyor belt. This one, as simple as it is, got the biggest laughs from the audience, and the gentle levity from an otherwise rather serious set of films was definitely appreciated. Music by Za Ondekawa [? -- I can't read my own writing] was nicely integrated as well.

The Big Head Boy [大頭仔的三塊厝]. Dir. HSIAO Hung Lin [蕭弘林]. 2007.

Smooth, globular Pixarish animation and character designs set in a very Taiwanese, rural setting. Weird.

Fly Out Blue [飛躍藍調]. Dir. Jack Shih [史明輝]. 2007. *

The life of an unhappy office worker and family man. Overall, perhaps the most consistent on the levels of plot, story-telling, and animation -- though I still don't like his character design. I'm picky about the overall look and animated character designs though. Most digital animation that I've seen has not yet found a way to reconcile the need to express three-dimensionality with aesthetic character designs, in my humble opinion. (I actually can't think of any digital animation I've seen that completely satisfies me.)

Nevertheless, Shih succeeds in telling a simple and coherent story using some clever techniques and thoughtful 'camera' work. Worth keeping an eye on this guy.

Woodman 3 Hot Fighting [木偶人3熱鬥]. Dir. LIN Shih-Young [林世勇]. 2007. *

The cleanest out of all the selections. Slickest designs and most professionally rendered. Blends very realistically rendered digital animation with real settings. Also, best use of sound.

After a brief promotional clip urging filmmakers to make movies in Taipei (commissioned by the newly-formed Taipei Film Commission and Taipei's Department of Cultural Affairs?), the film began with a bit of a surprise. A young man, leaving an apartment late at night, suddenly swells with an inexplicable rage. He unzips his electric guitar from its nylon case and smashes the instrument against a wall, shouting "Fuck you, Taipei!" He jumps back on his scooter and rides through the night until he reaches his Southern Taiwanese hometown of Hengchun, Pingtung County under cover of morning mist.

From the first line of dialogue, a sensational beginning to the 2008 Taipei Film Fest. This ambitious, high-budget feature tells the story of a Hengchun band hurriedly assembled by a politician-thug who insists on adding local representatives to the roster of Taipei and Japanese musicians at the annual Spring Scream festival. The young man who fled Taipei at the beginning of the movie, Aga, is elected to lead a band consisting of several other Hengchun citizens including a couple aboriginal policemen, an elementary school-aged church organist, and an overzealous, flashy drummer. The local yueqin legend, Aga's grandfather (played by 林宗仁), eventually weasels his way into the band as well. Reluctantly overseeing them all is a Japanese woman, Tomoko, whose task is to make sure this small-town opening act doesn't suck too badly and ruin the show for the headlining Japanese idol singer, whom her company represents.

Meanwhile, as Aga reacclimates to rural life, he takes over his grandfather's mail carrier job. One day, out of boredom, he opens a rejected package sent to an undeliverable address. Inside a lacquered box he finds a stash of old love letters from a Japanese man written to a Taiwanese woman around the time that Japan surrendered the island colony after World War II. The past and present, local and transnational intertwine in the story that follows.