Taiwan International Documentary Festival

Interview with Maxine Lu, Festival Manager

Randi Cecchine: I know this isn’t easy, but can you tell us a simplified history of Taiwan?

Maxine Lu: Taiwan an island off the south east part of mainland China. In the 17th century Dutch and Spanish explorers colonized parts of Taiwan and were drawn by its strategic location and natural resources. It was a Japanese colony for 50 years and was then returned to China at the end of WWII. In 1949 Chiang Kai Chek relocated to Taiwan with his military after he lost the civil war against the communist party in mainland China. Taiwan is now home to 23 million people and is unrecognized as a nation by the UN and most international organizations. Taiwan struggles with its identity in relation to the world community while thriving in economic development.

RC: Where does the festival fit into the context of Taiwan’s political history?

ML: Under Chiang Kai Chek Taiwan was ruled by a one party system- the KMT. Starting in the late 70’s and 80’s the so-called ‘outsider party’ movement protested to lift the state of Martial law which had been in place since the end of the Japanese period in 1945. This movement was committed to building democratic process and protest. To document this era people began using photography and portable video cameras, and created important documentation of the protests. These photos and tapes were distributed by hand as the government controlled all three television networks. Martial law was lifted in 1987 and immediately the DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) was granted official recognition, but the government media continued to represent them in an unfavorable light.

In the late 90’s a group of filmmakers, scholars and film critics gathered to locate and collect those early un-copyrighted protest videos. This group was concerned with preserving the original project masters and recognizing them as part of Taiwan’s historic record. Forming the Taiwan Documentary Development Association, these individuals went to legislator Wang Toh to discuss the possibility of creating a documentary festival to show the tapes. The first Taiwan International Documentary festival highlighted this important archive while also introducing Taiwanese audiences to the cannon of international documentaries to which they may have otherwise not had access.

RC: Can you talk about the history of the festival in the context of documentary form/creativity?

ML:By the third season the TIDF was under the charge of different management, with a group of young filmmakers and film critics. Also the political climate has changed so much by 2002, that for the first time ever that they showed ALL the protest videos, whatever they could find. These films stirred big discussion/debate. Some of the people who made these films became serious filmmakers who built a strong camaraderie and remained committed to their politically critical work. The third festival created a really fruitful/effective exchange with the audience and the makers. The artists were creatively aggressive and pushed to bring more experimental work into the festival, thus broadening the definition of documentary.

RC: What is the mission of the TIDF?

ML: In the fourth Taiwan International Documentary Festival, charged by Chinese Taipei Film Archive, we aim at outreaching to a wider audience while challenging this defined boundary of documentary; presenting Taiwanese perspectives and networking with the global sensitivity. This is not only the spirit of documentary, but also the true spirit of all artistic creation.

But The TIDF has another goal. We aspire to be a festival of Documentaries made by people with a historic connection to Chinese culture. Taiwan, Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Chinese communities around the world have so much in common, yet we don’t talk to one another. There is a hostility between our people, and this cannot be solved by political means. We are hoping that our festival can be one part of an approach to greater communication, in which direct contact can help to address the hostilities, misunderstanding and ignorance that keeps us apart. We believe artists do try to understand each other and accept multiple perspectives.

I think that TIDF is in a unique position to help foster this kind of exchange because out of the Chinese cultures that I mentioned, we produce the largest amount of documentaries.
Documentary is still unrecognized by the Chinese government, and many underground films in China address issues that the government is trying to avoid. China and Hong Kong will not want to show or grant permission to these docs, so it is hard for Chinese filmmakers to show their films and to dialogue with audiences.

Unfortunately … we were kind of naïve about the reality of bringing Chinese films to our festivals. Many filmmakers didn’t want to give their films to us because it would present a danger to them, and some people simply weren’t interested. Because of these challenges it took us too long to identify Chinese films that would be appropriate for the festival, but we do hope that in the coming years we will be able to make stronger connections with Chinese filmmakers.

RC: What kinds of filmmakers do you want to celebrate?

ML: Personally, I want to celebrate filmmakers with vision. Like Herz Frank who has dedicated himself to his work and really contemplates the medium of documentary and is deeply aware of his own role in this presentation. Filmmakers who open a window for us to peek into the truth of life… through their work they look at the face of life. And maybe in some euphoric moment in the darkness of the cinema you get an epiphany and you learn from it! I want to celebrate filmmakers like Agnes Varda, Chris Marker, Jonas Mekas…

RC: How difficult is it to put on this festival? What are the challenges?

ML: Both politics and economic are challenges. TIDF is fully sponsored by the government because documentary is not appreciated in Taiwan. People here either don’t know what it is about, or don’t think documentary can be interesting. It is really hard to get private funding, that is why it is sponsored by the government, but this presents limitations of course. For example, the budget was planned a year before the festival, but during preparation a lot of things changed, and we couldn’t be flexible because efforts in fundraising weren’t successful.

RC: Can you talk about the current state of documentary in Taiwan?

ML: After the change of political climate there are now a lot of funding sources from the government. We produce many more docs than fiction films because the central and local governments want to have educational and promotional videos made to document local history. But because the history of documentary in Taiwan has been so linked to political protest videos and issue oriented work, it is very difficult to break the conventions of straight documentary. In recent years we are seeing young filmmakers making more personal and intimate documentaries focusing on something other than politics. Documentaries can be political and functional but they also have to understand their own art form. We believe that it is important for Taiwanese filmmakers to recognize that, and this is why it is so important to bring international filmmakers to Taiwan to show their work.

RC: Maxine, tell me about yourself. What is your background?

ML: I’m the festival manager- I joined this festival in the 3rd biennial in 2002.
I was trained as an actor in theater in college, then I studied directing for the theater.
I went to film school at the City College of New York MFA in Media Arts Production where I studied fiction filmmaking. I have made fiction and documentary films- especially in Taiwan, most filmmakers do both doc and fiction.

I was lucky to be in New York because when I was staying there I went to the New York film festival all the time and I was inspired by the way they operate. They are very selective, they show 20-30 films per year, but always have very in-depth discussions. They don’t only bring directors, but make a point out of inviting producers, actors, and crew to talk to the audience. I was also really inspired that they were not aimed at bringing stars to the festival. While celebrities might attend, the festival was committed to filmmaking as an art, and not to the glamour that often accompanies festivals.

For more information on the TIDF visit http://www.tidf.org.tw

Randi Cecchine is a filmmaker, educator and freelance writer/photographer living in New York.