- Chinese Name: 戴立忍
- Date of Birth: July 27, 1966
- Birthplace: Taitung County (Southeastern Taiwan)
- Did You Know That … ? Leon Dai said he was greatly inspired by Brazilian film “City of God,” which made him realize that films can change society by communicating with the audience.
Leon Dai, who studied theater in college, started his career in theater in the late 1980s. He later went on to become a versatile artist in acting, filmmaking, editing and script writing, as well as commercial and theatre directing.
Dai was active in theater in the 1990s by directing dozens of plays as well as acting. Meanwhile, he also starred in many films and television dramas, winning the top honors for both genres in Taiwan – the Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1999 and the Golden Bell Award for Best Actor in 2000 and 2002.
Despite his success in acting, Dai has never forgotten what he wanted to do the most – making films. He said acting was one way to help him attract funding for shooting films.
Dai emerged as a talented director shortly after he made his directorial debut in 2000. His first work “Two Summers (兩個夏天),” a short film exploring violence and fear, not only won him the Golden Horse Award for Best Short, but it was also nominated in the international competition section of France’s Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival.
Dai, who has a strong sense of social awareness, made his second feature “No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti (Can’t Live without You, 不能沒有你),” which was based on a real incident, despite his personal debt of millions of New Taiwan dollars then.
The black-and-white film describes a working-class father’s struggle to help his daughter get an education. Failing to find help by regular means, the father threatens to jump off an overpass with the little girl.
“Through my films, I hope I can promote more self-reflection in society,” Dai was quoted as saying. The film garnered four top awards at the Golden Horse in 2009, in addition to various international awards. It also provoked a lot of discussions on the problems of bureaucracy and the media culture.
In recent years, Dai has also been known as a social activist who often partakes in protests such as an anti-nuclear power campaign and voices strong opinions and criticism through his Facebook page.
Selected Filmography
- 1999 – “A Chance to Die (想死趁現在)”
- 2000 – “Fleeing by Night (夜奔)”
- 2008 – “Parking (停車)”
- 2010 – “The Fourth Portrait (第四張畫)”
- 2014 – “(Sex) Appeal (寒蟬效應)”
- 2015 – “The Assassin (刺客聶隱娘)”
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