The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York is pleased to announce the screening of Taiwan’s experimental films from the 1960s at Lightbox Film Center in Philadelphia and Anthology Film Archives in New York from October 17 to October 21, 2018.
The five programs to be screened were first curated for this year’s Taiwan International Documentary Festival (TIDF) in May. The TIDF team put together 34 titles, some of which were shown for the first time since their completion some five decades ago. These films capture the sudden surge in creative energy of the 1960s.
These programs will be screened for the first time at Lightbox Film Center in Philadelphia (Oct. 17-19) and at Anthology Film Archives in New York (Oct. 19-21). Mr. Wood Lin, program director of the TIDF, will give the pre-screening introduction.
Program A: Richard Yao-chi Chen’s Student Films, 1963-1966
This program features four films Chen made while studying at UCLA. Among which, Liu Pi-Chia, a biographical documentary depicting the life of a veteran who worked on national construction projects in the 1960s, is considered Taiwan’s first cinéma vérité film.
Program B: Experimental Shorts from the 1960s
This program presents films by five cultural heavyweights: filmmaker Pai Ching-jui (1931-97), painter Han Hsiang-ning (1939-), photographer Chuang Ling (1938-) and Chang Chao-tang (1943-), and designer Long Sih-liang (1937-2012).
Program C: Experimental Shorts from the 1960s
This program shows five shorts by Macao-born, Hong Kong-based film critic Law Kar and renowned Hong Kong writer Xi Xi; Tom Davenport, an American independent filmmaker; and Huang Hua-cheng, who played an pivotal role in spearheading the experimental movement in arts in the 1960s.
Program D: The Mountain (short) + I Didn’t Dare Tell You (feature)
The Mountain, 1966, 19 min, 16mm-to-digital, Richard Yao-chi Chen
I Didn’t Dare Tell You, 1969, 78 min, 35mm-to-digital, Mou Tun-fei, In Chinese with English subtitles.
Born in China in 1941, Mou Tun-fei moved to Taiwan in 1949. I Didn't Dare Tell You and The End of the Track (program E below) were the only two feature films he made in Taiwan and among the nation’s first independent titles. The Mountain by Richard Chen uses a modernist approach to depict young people’s longing for freedom.
Program E: The End of the Track
Mou Tun-fei, 1970, 91 min, 35mm-to-digital, in Chinese with English subtitles. This film was banned after production due to its homosexual overtones.
Screening Schedule
Lightbox Film Center (3701 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19104)
Wed., Oct. 17 7:00pm Program A + B (Program B with live score performance by Jeff Zeigler and Sarah Schimeneck)
Thu., Oct. 18 7:00pm Program D
Fri., Oct. 19 6:00pm Program C
Fri., Oct. 19 8:00pm Program E
Anthology Film Archives (32 2nd Ave., New York, NY 10003)
Fri., Oct. 19 7:45pm Program A
Sat., Oct. 20 5:30pm Program C
Sat., Oct. 20 8:00pm Program D
Sun., Oct. 21 5:15pm Program E
Sun., Oct. 21 8:00pm Program B (with live musical performance by C. Spencer Yeh)
For more information about the films and auteurs, as well as complete programs and screening schedule, please visit the websites of Lightbox Film Center and Anthology Film Archives, or download the brochure here: Imaging the Avant-Garde.pdf.
