What Time Is It There? Taiwanese Film Biennial

Read about this series in Forbes.

Behind Taiwan’s complicated current political status stands a rich intercultural heritage. In just the last century, Taiwan’s mix of Austronesian, Chinese, Japanese, American and Southeast Asian people and cultures has led to artistic innovations in literature, music, dance, theater and cinema. These factors have made Taiwan at once an utterly unique place and an exemplary model for how nations and localities serve as dynamic hubs within global cultural networks. Following our 2014 series What Time Is It There? Taiwan as Crossroads, the Archive proudly presents the first What Time Is It There?: Taiwanese Film Biennial to celebrate the ongoing importance and diversity of Taiwanese filmmaking since the emergence of famous auteurs like Hou Hsiao-hsien, Edward Yang, Tsai Ming-liang and Ang Lee in the 1980s and 1990s. Featuring over a dozen films, including multiple area premieres, our inaugural program explores narrative fictions, documentaries, commercial genres, art films, local subjects and border-crossing productions. As a special bonus, we present several recently restored classics from Taiwan’s earlier commercial film industry, representing the cinematic tradition that the Taiwan New Cinema of the 1980s both built upon and reacted against.

Significant support for this series was provided by Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles.

Watch the series trailer:

What Time Is It There? Taiwanese Film Biennial takes place in conjunction with a gallery exhibition showcasing the Taiwan New Cinema sponsored by Taiwan Academy. The exhibition runs from September 18 through November 18 in the Taiwan Academy gallery at 1137 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles. For information about the exhibit, please visit facebook.com/taiwanacademyla.

Film series curated by Robert Chi and Paul Malcolm. Program notes written by Robert Chi.