Director
Directed by 湯湘竹
In today’s world, is mutual understanding still possible? When authoritarianism resurges, power is concentrated in the hands of corporate giants, and fake news floods every channel, even basic communication between people has become a daunting challenge. The team at Chichi’s Notes believes that the desire to communicate stems from our human longing to understand the unknown. As long as we stay curious and refuse to accept a black-and-white view of the world, meaningful dialogue remains possible. This online film program begins with the theme of fake news and self-media, inviting viewers to reflect on how media shapes public perception. Through the lens of documentary, we question what we take for granted and challenge our assumptions—listening to the confessions of dictators and digital nationalists, exploring the resistance of cults and subcultures, and blurring the line between criminality and creativity. We hope these films offer glimpses into our shared struggles and desires—and open up new spaces for mutual understanding in a world that feels increasingly divided.
This curated film list centers around the Time Travel Taiwan Series, featuring 13 Taiwanese documentary filmmakers who reinterpret officially archived footage through creative reimagining. By transforming historical images into new narratives, they breathe fresh life into decades past. Audiences are invited to step into a time tunnel — to explore Taiwan’s historical landscapes and witness the sparks ignited by cross-generational dialogue through these experimental visual works.
“Unexpected Taiwanese Cinema” takes its title from a regular column by writer Zhang Yi-xuan, published in Fa: A Journal of Film Appreciation. Issue #190 of the magazine centers on films made with archival footage, opening a conversation on archival collage cinema. A special feature titled Private Films by Women explores how the idea that “the personal is political” is practiced through documentary. In her column of the same name, Zhang Yi-xuan also reflects on the film Looking for Chiang Ching-kuo, examining its unique place in the Taiwanese cinematic landscape—how it opens up the past instead of merely returning to it, and how such an approach keeps critical thinking through images alive. Both “archives” and “documentation” point us toward the past. But unless the past is re-examined and redefined, memory cannot truly exist. This collaborative program between Fa and Giloo invites viewers to engage with Taiwanese cinema that defies expectations—films that challenge, refract, and reimagine the nation's film history through both viewing and writing. Together, we hope to uncover new cinematic possibilities waiting within Taiwan’s ever-evolving image archive.