Culture Minister Lung Ying-tai on Monday urged moviegoers to support 15 government-subsidized Taiwanese films that will hit local theaters over the next six months, saying film does best to promote Taiwan to the world.
A press conference titled 'Taiwanese Films Shinning Worldwide' was held to promote the 15 films, which focus on topics such as love, family, life and culture and range from ancient costume dramas and police dramas to action movies and romance.
'I cannot think of another form of art that best crosses the language barrier as film, which does best to illicit the emotions and common memories of Taiwanese people and to promote that to the world,' said Lung.
The Minister said film is also the art form that best appeals to people from different social classes. She added that her Ministry will aim to 'bring a lot of films to the villages' to expand audiences for Taiwanese films.
Although it is important to subsidize films and resolve restrictions that prevent Taiwanese films from entering the Chinese market, Lung said the key to boosting Taiwan's film industry lies in nurturing audiences who appreciate films.
'No matter how much budget we have, that is something that has to be done,' she stated.
Meanwhile, Lung said Taiwan's creativity gives its film industry a competitive edge in the Chinese film market.
However, she also acknowledged the difficulty for Taiwan to compete in the face of big film productions from China.
In the near future, Taiwanese film could face a big challenge, Lung said, as China is likely to request more access to Taiwan's film market, including the right to set up movie theaters in Taiwan, in the next round of talks between the two sides.
Despite the challenges, Lung said Taiwan needs to nurture more creative talent and promote its films to the world instead of over-relying on the Chinese market.
The 15 films include 'GF*BF,' a story about the love and friendship between three youngsters who joined the student movements in Taiwan in the 1980s, and the 'Fierce Wife,' a popular TV soap opera about infidelity that was made into a film.
'Silent Code,' a film about Internet culture, 'Prima Donna,' a musical documentary about four cross-dressers, and 'Ripples of Desire,' about the story of a pair of geisha sisters in the Ming Dynasty, will also be among the films to be screened.