A Showcase for Talent
The film and television culture has become increasingly integrated throughout the world in recent years. Countries around the globe are staging events to exhibit their accomplishments in film and television and boost international visibility of these products. Last year, the Taiwan International Film and TV Expo was held for the first time. The success of last year’s event has paved the way to expand the Expo this year. It is expected that the wide rage of events held under the Expo umbrella will turn November into “Film and TV Month” in Taipei. The Expo will provide an integrated platform for creation, culture and industry, helping to solidify the competitiveness of Taiwan’s film and television industry, and enabling the industry not only to have an eye on Asia, but also the entire world.
The Executive Yuan’s Government Information Office has once again arranged for the Golden Horse Awards, the Golden Bell Awards, the Taipei TV & Film Festival and the Taiwan Film and TV Project Promotion to be held around the same time. This year, the scale of the Expo will be further expanded by holding a series of activities associated with the 50 Year Retrospective of Taiwanese Language Films. In addition, the Asia Pacific Film Festival will be held this year in Taipei, adding yet another major event to the list of activities under the 2006 Taiwan International Film and TV Expo. The Film and TV Expo is more than a just a group of activities bunched together. The GIO hopes that the integration of public and private sector resources in holding this series of activities will foster international exchanges. The GIO expects Taiwan to be in the international spotlight in November as it holds this series of film and television gala events. The Expo will provide a forum for interaction among people on the business side of film and TV, and will also bring together any number of industry stars.
This year, organizers have decided to focus on the Chinese character “cai” as the central word for the Expo. “Cai” is used to form the word “talent” in Chinese and is the key character in the Chinese expression “Cai Gao Ba Dou,” which means “of great literary talent.” Meanwhile, the theme for this year’s Expo is “Spotlight on Taiwan – Vision for Asia.” The character “cai” is used in the word to designate a person of talent. In addition, variations of the character are used to form the words “ability,””wealth”and “talent,”the three of which are precisely the prerequisites for outstanding films and television programming.
Taiwan is already well known in the international film and television arena for having a large number of talented and creative individuals. We hope that the 2006 Taiwan International Film & TV Expo will help unite Taiwanese, Asian and global markets and industry, paving the way to produce even greater achievements in film and television. This year’s theme is also exhibited in the Expo’s poster, which features containers to measure rice. Eight of these containers, each representing one of the events, are stacked on top of each other to form a tall tower. In addition to resembling the Taipei City landmark building Taipei 101, the tower also exhibits the character of Taiwan and signifies the meanings of building on one’s experience, having a bountiful harvest and continuing to seek to achieve new heights.
Five outstanding star actors and actresses, namely Chang Chen, Chen Bo-lin, Guey Lun-mei, Angela Chang, and Mike Ho, have been invited to take part in the Expo, serving as “film and television ambassadors.” Each of these artists has been highly praised in either films or television programs in which they have taken part, and therefore will act as “image ambassadors” at this year’s Expo. In addition to representing the vitality of Taiwan’s film and television industry, they will help to heighten interest in the Expo among the public at large.
Film and television programming puts Taiwan on show and is the best avenue to exhibit Taiwan culture. I hope this Expo will not only bolster the film and television industry, but also shine a light on Taiwan internationally, enabling more people throughout the world to understand and get to know Taiwan. The Expo will be a huge carnival for Taiwan film and television as well as a major international event in the film and TV industry. I hope that everyone will participate in the events.
