Chinese Name: 林文錦
Born: 1933
Birthplace: Taichung (Central Taiwan)
Did You Know That…?
While filming an explosion scene for the movie “Eight Hundred Heroes (八百壯士),” Lin was so dedicated to his job that he didn’t even realize he had suffered burns on his arms.
Lin Wen-chin was born in Fengyuan (豐原), Taichung in 1933. Lin graduated from Feng Yuan Commercial High School in 1950 and worked at a sugar factory for a while before joining the Agricultural Educational Film Company as one of its first film technician trainees. In the very film company, he learned the fundamentals of film production, including cinematography, lighting, film processing, sound recording, and projection.
Lin was relocated to the headquarters of the Agricultural Education Film Company in Taipei in 1952, where he worked for the film rental business for over a year. During this period, Lin watched a rich variety of classic films after his work, which laid a solid foundation for his future success.
In 1954, the Agricultural Education Film Company and the Taiwan Film Corporation merged to form the Central Motion Picture Corporation (CMPC), and Lin was transferred to the film production department in Taichung. In CMPC, he began working as an assistant cinematographer in the production of “By the Hillside (梅崗春回),” the first ever film produced by the newly founded CMPC.
In 1956, Lin assisted in the sound recording of the immensely popular Taiwanese Opera film “Xue Pinggui and Wang Baochuan (薛平貴與王寶釧)”, which was not only the film that started the Taigi cinema boom from late 1950s to the 1970s, but also the first Taigi film to be shot by a private film company at CMPC studios.
Lin was promoted to cinematographer at the CMPC in 1962. Throughout his career, Lin has shot numerous classic war films, such as “Everlasting Glory (英烈千秋)”; “Eight Hundred Heroes (八百壯士)”; and “The Battle for the Republic of China (辛亥雙十).” In 1966, Lin won Best Cinematography at the 5th Golden Horse Awards with “Orchids and My Love (我女若蘭),” marking his first time receiving an honor. Lin was also nominated for the same award at the 15th and 17th Golden Horse Awards for his films “The Diary of Di-Di (蒂蒂日記)” and “The Pioneers (源)” respectively.
Outside of his cinematography career, Lin also tried to direct his first film “By Accident (第二次一對一)” in 1981. After being promoted to become the head of the film production team in 1990, Lin shot his last film in 1992 and retired from CMPC in 1998.
Dedicating himself to the film industry for nearly half a century, Lin has participated in the production of more than 200 films and shot over 80 films as a cinematographer. As a senior worker of the industry, Lin has mentored countless aspiring cameramen, including award-winning cinematographers Liao Pen-jung (廖本榕) and Lee Ping-bing (李屏賓). In 2024, Lin was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 61st Golden Horse Awards for his contributions to Taiwanese cinema.