"Reading Time,” a 10-episode series on Taiwanese literature adapted by local filmmakers and produced by the Ministry of Culture, is set to be aired on the National Geographic channel on March 29.
The episodes each comprise a 20-minute-long feature adapted from literary works by prestigious writers such as Yang Kui (楊逵), Jiji (季季), Chu Tien-wen (朱天文), and Luo Yi-jun (駱以軍), and a 5-minute documentary on the featured author.
The production is part of the Ministry's efforts to get more people to read by "combining literature with new visual arts,” said Culture Minister Hung Meng-chih (洪孟啟) at a press conference on March 26.
Citing his personal experience as an example, the Minister stated that "oftentimes I watched a movie first and then went back to read the novel.” He believes that the 10 films, which are set in different times and space, "can present Taiwan's cultural changes over the past century through [the context of] different literary works.”
"This is an opportunity for filmmakers to pay homage to Taiwanese writers,” added director Wang Hsiao-ti (王小棣), who supervised the project. The life experiences of Taiwan's forbearers can only be passed down via writers, directors, actors, the media, and TV, said Wang.
Both Jiji and writer Liao Yu-hui (廖玉蕙) acknowledged the 10-film set as "an epitome of Taiwanese history.” Liao also said that the airings will lead to a revival in indigenous Taiwanese literature.
The time eras of the adapted books range from the period of Japanese occupation to the 21st century, and filming the different settings portrayed in each literary context posed the biggest challenge to the directors.
Cheng Wen-tang (鄭文堂) led the production crew to Hokkaido in Japan to re-make a scene of snowing Tokyo streets described by Yang Kui in "The Newspaper Boy (送報伕)”; Cheng You-chieh (鄭有傑) dived into the sea around Lanyu (Orchid Island) to capture the view of the Pacific Ocean so poignantly described by indigenous Tao writer Syaman Rapongan (夏曼藍波安); and Wang shot her part, an adaptation of Jiji's novel "Walking Tree (行走的樹),” on the historic streets of Taoyuan and Hsinchu to recreate a 1960s setting.
National Geographic Taiwan will begin airing two episodes each Sunday at 10am starting on March 29. The series will also be aired by TTV (台視) and FOX International Channels (星衛娛樂台) in April.
The upcoming Golden Harvest Awards & Short Film Festival (金穗影展) and the Golden Horse Fantastic Film Festival's (金馬奇幻影展) special screening section will also showcase several episodes of the series in late March and early April.
