A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE FILM INDUSTRY IN TAIWAN

Storytelling through filmmaking stands as a significant symbol of a country’s creativity and innovation. This being the case, Taiwan should be a leader because Taiwan’s new wave cinema directors – Edward Yang, Hou Hsiao Hsien, Tsai Ming Liang, and Ang Lee – are well known as master visual storytellers in the international film arena. Also, the Golden-Horse Film Festival in Taiwan has been reknowned for years, and there are other festivals promoting film culture in Taiwan; these include the Taiwan International Documentary Festival, the Taipei Film Festival, and the Women Make Waves Film/Video Festival. And yet, in spite of the international reputation of these filmmakers and the various film festivals identified above – not to mention the many efforts by the government to encourage and promote the film industry (through subsidies of studio productions, for example) – the Taiwanese film industry is in a state of decline. Audiences are not flocking to see films made by their compatriots; instead, they are watching films imported from outside, including Hollywood films. Part of the reason for this is that production companies that own the Taiwan films have relatively little capital, compared to foreign companies, to invest in marketing and influence movie theater exhibitors to show their films during prime times...