观音山 | Buddha Mountain

Three 20-something buddies drift like free-spirits through Chengdu, Sichuan: Nan Feng, a gorgeous and fearlessly feisty bar singer, and her two admirers, bike delivery guy Ding Bo and roly-poly Fei Zao. When Nan Feng accidentally assaults a well-connected bar patron, the three need to find not only compensation money but also a new place to live. They find the apartment of Chang Yueqin, a retired but agelessly elegant Beijing opera performer. Life styles and generations clash: Yueqin tries to impose discipline on the youths, and they in turn mock her old-fashioned harshness. When their reckless violation of her privacy exposes Yueqin’s hidden sorrows, the four learn to accommodate their differences, then how to offer emotional and ultimately spiritual support.

Directed by Yu Li | Starring : Bingbing Fan, Sylvia Chang, Bo-lin Chen, Yue Guan, Li Fang | Presented at Tokyo Film Festival, Vancouver Film Festival, Chicago Film Festival, Thessaloniki Film Festival, Cleveland Film Festival

一个好爸爸 | Run Papa Run

Run Papa Run is a bit of a different take on the usual Hong Kong gangster movie shenanigans. In the film, Louis Koo plays Lee, a young man who finds father figures in the Triads his mother takes care of in her underground clinic. Despite his mother’s objections, Lee joins the local gang, and soon becomes one of the most powerful gangsters in Hong Kong. However, things are turned upside down for Lee soon after her meets a pretty lawyer named Mabel. After getting Mabel pregnant and marrying her in a shotgun wedding, Lee finds himself wanting to be a “good” Triad for the sake of his daughter, Heiyi. Of course, it isn’t so easy for a hardened gangster to be a nice guy, and Lee must try to balance the needs of both of his “families”.

Directed by Sylvia Chang | Starring : Louis Koo, Rene Liu, Nora Miao, Siu Chung Mok, Suet Lam | Presented at Hong Kong Film Festival

吴清源 | The Go Master

The latest film from celebrated Fifth Generation director Tian Zhuangzhuang, The Go Master shines a light on the life and times of Wu Qingyuan. Better know by his Japanese name Go Seigen, Wu is considered the greatest Go player of the 20th century, his talents bringing him from his native China to a professional career in Japan when he was only a teenager. Based on Wu’s autobiography, this elegantly shot and remarkably restrained biopic follows the life of a singular figure, fascinating not only for his genius and achievements in the game of Go, but also for his unique experiences as a Chinese man in Japan during an immensely turbulent period in history. With the breakout of the Sino-Japanese War in the 1930s, Wu Qingyuan and his family are thrown into an uncomfortable and dangerous position as Chinese nationals residing in Japan. While Wu’s family returns to China, he chooses to stay behind in his adopted country to continue to pursue the game of Go. In the quiet recluse of his school, there are no politics, only the singular dedication to his art and the love for his wife Kazuko. However, the chaos of the times eventually forces him out of his enclave, throwing his life and mind into conflict. Wu joins a cult in a sober pursuit of faith and his own ongoing battle to come to terms with himself.

Directed by Zhuangzhuang Tian | Starring : Chen Chang, Sylvia Chang, Xuejian Li, Ayumi Ito, Yi Huang | Presented at New York Film Festival, Rome Film Festival, Hong Kong Film Festival, Ankara Film Festival, Shanghai Film Festival, Bangkok Film Festival, Cinemanila Film Festival

20 30 40

Three women in different stages of their lives – 20, 30, 40 – face the hardships of the female existence. Xiao Jie has just turned twenty. She is in Taipei for the first time in her life. Now that she has finally escaped her strict parents she can’t wait to make her dream of becoming a pop star come true. When she meets the rather insensitive manager, Brother Shi, she believes she has at last found someone who will help to ‘foster’ her ambitions. But her new-found independence has unexpectedly dangerous consequences for her emotions… Xiang Xiang, a thirtysomething flight attendant, is caught between two men. In the throes of a passionate affair with a married man, she also has a younger lover… Lily Zhao is a forty-year-old divorcee. She thoroughly enjoys her life as a single woman and happily agrees to one rendezvous after another. One day, Lily – who looks much younger than her age – meets an attractive single man named Jerry. The only snag is that he is currently dating a girl that is the same age as Lily’s own daughter.

Directed by Sylvia Chang | Starring : Sylvia Chang, Rene Liu, Angelica Lee, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang | Presented at Berlin Film Festival, Portland Film Festival

想飞 | Princess D

When Joker meets Ling in a disco one night, he feels that he has found the perfect model of his dream project princess-d. Bases on the image of Ling, he plans to create a novel virtual idol on the internet. In reality, however, Ling is the opposite of the perfect image. Her father is jailed for life, her mother remains half-conscious after an attack, and her brother holds no proper job but only wants to make himself known in the gang. Together with Joker’s younger brother Kid, the trio works hard toward their goal while problems keep running out of hand…

Directed by Sylvia Chang, Alan Yuen | Starring : Sylvia Chang, Rene Liu, Angelica Lee, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Pat Ha | Presented at Changchun Film Festival, Oldenburg Film Festival

心动 | Tempting Heart

Modern-day director Cheryl sets out to tell a tale of teen love that fizzled and was then reignited in adulthood. Takeshi Kaneshiro and Gigi Leung Wing-Kei are the on-and-off-again lovers. Their relationship begins in high school in the 1970’s and continues in separate episodes into the 1980’s and ‘90’s. Karen Mok Man-Wai forms the third part of a strangely intersecting love triangle. This romantic drama reveals a tangled web of meaning in the relationship between the three friends and is likely to leave a deep impression upon the viewer The beautiful look of the film can be credited to cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-Bin and the award-winning art director Man Lim-Chung.

Directed by Sylvia Chang | Starring : Takeshi Kaneshiro, Gigi Leung, Karen Mok, Sylvia Chang, Leon Dai | Presented at Toronto Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, Warsaw Film Festival

今天不回家 | Tonight Nobody Goes Home

A funny, light weight comedy from Sylvia Chang. We all know that yawning is contagious, but to the Chen family contagiousness extends to taking on an extra-marital affair. Gua Ah-leh is at the movie’s centre: she shines as Lung’s wife, who finds she has a thing or two to learn from the gigolo after Lung blithely. Lang Hisung plays old dentist for broad comedy (showing a different side from his starring roles in Ang Lee’s films); he is sixty years old but still physically fit and full of charisma. He wants to be able to experience the vitality of a burning passion for one last once. leaves her. The extra-familial affair is discovered.

Directed by Sylvia Chang | Starring : Sihung Lung, Ya-lei Kuei, Winston Chao, Rene Liu, Jordan Chan | Presented at Toronto Film Festival, Singapore Film Festival

少女小渔 | Siao Yu

Directed by Sylvia Chang, who avoids the usual pitfalls of the greencard-marriage movie. Set in Lower Manhattan, this film chronicles the travails of two Taiwanese illegal aliens: Siao-yu works as a sweatshop seamstress while her lover, Jiang Wei, is a student working in Chinatown’s fish market. They meet a middle-aged Italian-American, Mario, a writer who has racked up a large gambling debt. They agree to give him the $10,000 he needs if he will only marry Siao-yu and get her a green card. Following the “wedding,” Siao-yu moves into his spare bedroom, after which they become unexpected and oddly-matched friends. Meanwhile, Siao-yu’s actual boyfriend, and Mario’s wife — who left him long ago — reassert their presence during this bogus arrangement.

Directed by Sylvia Chang | Starring : Rene Liu, Daniel J. Travanti, Chung-Hua Tou, Marj Dusay, Tai-Feng Hsia | Presented at Toronto Film Festival, Chicago Film Festival

饮食男女 | Eat Drink Man Woman

Trouble is cooking for widower and master chef Chu who’s about to discover that no matter how dazzling and delicious his culinary creations might be, they’re no match for the libidinous whims of his three beautiful but rebellious daughters. A master in the kitchen, Chu is at a loss when it comes to the ingredients of being a father. Every Sunday, he whips up a delicacy of dishes for his ungrateful daughters, who are so self-consumed that they don’t see his attempt at showing them love – gastronomically. So, as relationships sour and communications break down, Chu concocts a sure-fire recipe that will bring his family back together: He creates his own love affair to rival his daughters’ affections!

Directed by Ang Lee | Starring : Sihung Lung, Chien-lien Wu, Kuei-Mei Yang, Sylvia Chang, Winston Chao | Presented at Cannes Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, San Sebastian Film Festival, London Film Festival

新同居时代 | In Between

Three directors deliver three stories about the love of in the modern world. Three love stories are presented: A man who cannot give up his freedom despite the fact that he loves his girlfriend, a naive man who learns love and loss in an adulterous relationship with the wife of his boss, and a man who develops a friendship with his girlfriend who gets pregnant after a night of passion with him. The irony of the modern society’s relationships living in the same place does not mean living together works out tastefully.

Directed by Sylvia Chang, Yonfan, Leung Chun ‘Samson’ Chiu | Starring : Maggie Cheung, Sylvia Chang, Winston Chao, Chien-lien Wu, Nicky Wu | Presented at Pusan Film Festival

最爱 | Passion

A funny, light weight comedy from Sylvia Chang. We all know that yawning is contagious, but to the Chen family contagiousness extends to taking on an extra-marital affair. Gua Ah-leh is at the movie’s centre: she shines as Lung’s wife, who finds she has a thing or two to learn from the gigolo after Lung blithely. Lang Hisung plays old dentist for broad comedy (showing a different side from his starring roles in Ang Lee’s films); he is sixty years old but still physically fit and full of charisma. He wants to be able to experience the vitality of a burning passion for one last once. leaves her. The extra-familial affair is discovered.

Directed by Sylvia Chang | Starring : Sylvia Chang, George Lam, Cora Miao, Man Huang, King-fai Chung | Presented at N/A

海滩的一天 | That Day, on the Beach

Shot by Christopher Doyle, this contemporary epic about the position of women in Taiwanese society helped change the face of Taiwanese film. Two women – Lin Chia-li and Tan – meet after many years. Tan, a famous concert pianist, was once engaged to Lin Chia-li’s brother, but parental opposition broke up the romance; Lin Chia-li, on the other hand, defied her parents and married for love. Her marriage is far from happy however. As with Yang’s other films, the characters are paralyzed by the conflicting forces of modernity and tradition, a battle that wages both outside and within them, especially in the case of Lin Chia-li. Her rejection of a tradition she saw as oppressive has only left her feeling strangely empty. For many critics, That Day, on the Beach is the widest ranging look at what it means to be a woman in contemporary Taiwan. “The subtlety of Yang and Chang merge together to form an irresistible emotional force”

Directed by Edward Yang | Starring : Sylvia Chang, Terry Hu, Ming Hsu, Lieh Li, Fang Mei | Presented at Toronto Film Festival, Melbourne Film Festival

疯劫 | The Secret

The mangled bodies of a couple are discovered. It is said that the deceased woman appears and disappears from her grandmother’s house. A nurse who lives next to the house decides to pursue the mystery as if haunted by a desire for the truth, and finally discovers the woman’s secret. This is a monumental film which broke new ground for the director and announced the arrival of a new wave movement in Hong Kong cinema.

Directed by Ann Hui | Starring : Sylvia Chang, Angie Chiu, Norman Chu, Hai-shu Li, Zhuozhuo Li | Presented at N/A