Taiwan New Cinema at Film Festivals - by Beth Tsai (Paperback)

About the Book

Revisits Taiwan New Cinema in relation to film festivals from cultural, historical, and geopolitical standpoints.

Book Synopsis

Taiwan New Cinema (first wave, 1982-1989; second wave, 1990 onward) has a unique history regarding film festivals, particularly in the way these films are circulated at major European film festivals. It shares a common formalist concern about cinematic modernism with its Western counterparts, departing from previous modes of filmmaking that were preoccupied with nostalgically romanticizing China's image.
Through utilising in-depth case studies of films by Taiwan-based directors: Tsai Ming-liang, Zhao Deyin and Hou Hsiao-hsien, Tsai discusses how Taiwan New Cinema represents a struggling configuration of the 'nation', brought forth by Taiwan's multilayered colonial and postcolonial histories. Taiwan New Cinema at Film Festivals presents the conditions that have led to the production of a national cinema, branding the auteur, and examines shifting representations of cultural identity in the context of globalization.

Review Quotes

Outstripping auteur-centred accounts of the Taiwan New Cinema, Tsai forges an illuminating new perspective by reconstructing the economic, discursive, and migratory conditions that shaped this movement. This book is vital reading for those interested in Taiwan New Cinema and its afterlives, and in the transnational imaginary of contemporary art cinema.--Jean Ma, Stanford University

Taiwan New Cinema at Film Festivals is a delight! It marks out a beguiling path connecting Taiwan New Cinema, advocate criticism, and film festivals into a unique fabric of contemporary film culture. Tsai's adroit storytelling is original and provocative.--Emilie Yueh-yu Yeh, Lingnan University, Hong Kong