The New Taipei City Government is holding a documentary film workshop today and tomorrow at Taipei Innovation City.
The name of the workshop, “Six Lessons for Documentary Film Workers,” refers to the six themes covered: art documentary perspectives, international marketing, crowdfunding, editing, publishing, and proposals.
Each practical lesson is taught by a prominent figure in the film industry: renowned editor Liao Ching-sung, Golden Horse Festival Jury Award winner Huang Ming-chuan, award-winning director Ho Chao-ti, Taipei Film Festival director Li Ya-mei, Taipei Film Awards Best Documentary winner Huang Chia-chun, and senior international documentary producer Gary Shih. The big names are generating big demand among documentary enthusiasts.
“I want to thank all of the directors and producers who contributed to New Taipei City documentaries during the past 10 years,” said Chiang Chih-wei, the head of New Taipei City’s Department of Information, to all of the directors and filmmakers who were present. Chiang said that as this professional guidance fosters a new generation of directors, New Taipei City is helping up-and-coming directors to screen films in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Boston, Thailand, and other places, where they have received excellent receptions from audiences. The exposure turns overseas film exhibitions into important channels for New Taipei City to promote documentary films. New Taipei City also holds an annual international film festival, though this year’s event was postponed due to COVID-19. When the pandemic abates, the city will continue to cooperate with organizers from around the world to raise the visibility of Taiwanese directors and their films.
This year’s New Taipei City documentary film workshop features six main themes: “art documentary perspectives,” “international exposure for Taiwanese documentaries,” “pragmatism vs. idealism · documentary directors and crowdfunding,” “documentary editing experiences,” “documentary proposal methods,” and “documentary publishing and copyright sales.” The themed talks, which give students, film workers, and other members of the general public who are interested in documentary film an opportunity to interact with professional directors and producers, provide a new generations of filmmakers with tools to make original content and carry on the important tradition of documentary filmmaking.
Numerous film-related events took place today. Avant-garde documentary director Huang Ming-chuan, who has made a biographical film about a Taiwanese author, filmed oral histories of 100 poets, and won a Golden Horse Award, delivered an opening monologue on art documentary perspectives. Many attendees came for the chance to see this film master in person. For the second talk, senior international documentary producer Gary Shih focused on international exposure for Taiwanese documentaries. Shih discussed development of Chinese-language documentaries in overseas markets, assistance for Taiwanese documentary workers, and international promotion of Taiwanese documentaries. The third talk featured Taipei Film Awards Best Documentary winner Huang Chia-chun, who shared his thoughts on crowdfunding among documentary directors. After filming the marine-themed movie Whale Island, to gather funds for postproduction, theater screenings, and tickets for students, Huang used crowdfunding to raise close to NT$12 million, a record crowdfunding haul for a Taiwanese documentary film. Huang’s insights will help many other filmmakers raise capital.
Three talks are scheduled for the 13th: “documentary editing experiences” from renowned editor Liao Ching-sung, “documentary proposal methods” from director Ho Chao-ti, and “documentary publishing and copyright sales” from Taipei Film Festival director Li Ya-mei. Liao is a winner of a National Award for Arts and a Golden Horse Special Contribution Award. Besides film editing, Liao is involved in production, directing, and screenwriting. He has a comprehensive understanding of film and a unique philosophy towards editing. Ho, meanwhile, has spent years exploring alternative ideas that she expresses through films screened at international film festivals in Europe, America and Asia. Possessing a rich film vocabulary and a knack for understanding what is on people’s minds, Ho is both warm and incisive. Li, who has served as director of the Taipei Film Festival for two years, previously was deputy secretary-general of the Golden Horse Film Festival. She has accumulated extensive practical experiences in the film industry, including planning and production as well as marketing, publicity, and distribution for domestic films.
During the past 10 years, New Taipei City held a series of activities relating to documentary films and helped filmmakers complete 84 documentary short films. The New Taipei City International Documentary Month held from October 27th to November 21st this year will showcase films relating to Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, the United States, Turkey, and other places. Activities will be held at Fuzhong 15 New Taipei City Documentary Cinema screening venue and Taipei Huashan Spot Theater. It is a must-see event for documentary film fans. For more details on the workshop and documentary-related activities search for 「感動，無所不在」on Facebook.
