Paranoid City

There are something different about the film productions made by the final year students (graduating in 2012) who took ‘Film and Literature’ from those made previously (namely, in chronological order, professors Wall, Cline, Griffith, Bergthaller). It must by pointed out that these wonderful precursors have set examples for the farthest amateur film makers could possibly go, and therefore have created anxieties of influence to late comers. The differences were: First, the class size was large enough to be divided into three groups, with around ten each. That allows them to make three short films – and that also means there were three sets of production crews – including such key posts as director, scriptwriter, cinematographer, art director and editor. Second, the ideas of the three films were relatively open. The students were encouraged to create their own stories by transforming their life experiences into cinematic media. In the beginning, they were given, as a way of inspiration, a particular size tag (idea taken from Rem Koolhaas and Bruce Mau’s celebrating study of the proportion of architecture in the city: Small, Medium, Large, Extra-Large). The instructor showed the students a combination of necessary film vocabularies via classic films and literary texts, and inspirations via related films and literature when their films had been developing. Each group needed to show their work to the whole class in different stages, so they also learned how to give feedbacks productively. Third, since the films were created and initiated by the students themselves, that created different group dynamics, and they learn how to motivate other group members to work as a team. Fourth, apart from actually producing a film, students also need to submit individual essays showing ability of critical analysis of important film texts. Both practical and theoretical techniques were stressed. Finally, there was a substantial portion of the course time (around one-fourth) devoted to body movements, taught by a professional choreographer and dancer. Students’ bodily sensitivity and non-verbal communication were trained, and that were reflected in the final cut.

One more word about the production process of Paranoid City: students were given almost absolute freedom to make a story that they want to tell - I believe that the work is important to see solely for this reason. I am honored to witness the suffering and happiness of the creative process of these talented young artists.

Total Depravity

Total Depravity. Dr. Griffith: Spring 2011. Inspired by Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Children of God

As a democratic and multicultural country, Taiwan has embraced many different religions—from traditional beliefs such as Buddhism and Daoism, to more recent arrivals, such as evangelical Christian groups and Yi-Guan Dao. The great variety of religious practices is an integral part of Taiwan’s colorful urban landscape. In the past few decades, the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, popularly known as Mormonism, has come to play an increasingly prominent role within this island’s religious spectrum. Mormon missionaries are often seen riding bikes on the streets of Taiwan’s cities in order to win new converts for their religion; in the media, they are sometimes commended for their stoic attitude and philanthropic activities.

Yet people in Taiwan seem to have little idea what Mormonism is and how rapidly the number of Mormon converts has grown. This documentary sets out to discover the secret of their success. In order to find out what accounts for the popularity of Mormonism, we have interviewed scholars, missionaries, ordinary people on the street, and a Taiwanese convert. We also examine the development of this religion both in the US and in Taiwan. Our conclusion is that the success of Mormonism in Taiwan has something to do with its promotion of family values. The Mormon church, with its tight-knit relationship and strict hierarchy among its members, has become a surrogate for Taiwanese who are nostalgic about the traditional family structure and yearn for the moral clarity of the past.

Undone

Undone. Dr. Griffith: Spring 2009. Inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy.

The Queen of Spades

Alexandr Pushkin’s classic story of gambling, ghosts and love gone astray is captured in this sumptuously detailed adaptation. Remarkably, the story’s original setting of pre-Soviet Russia has been re-envisioned as occurring on the island of Taiwan, shortly after the entrenchment of Chang Kai-Chek’s army, but Pushkin’s clever social critique of the useless class remains unscathed.

The Masque of the Red Death

The Masque of the Red Death is based on a story of the same name by Edgar Allen Poe. As in the original story there is a deadly epidemic that threatens whole populations of people. A small group vainly attempts to escape death by withdrawing into an isolated location only to discover that they have brought the disease with them. Our film is set in the present, the epidemic is SARS, and the group is led by an arrogant music producer. The group intends to outlive the epidemic in the music producer’s remote and lavish home where they will, as one character says, “live a life of pleasure”. They are unaware that they are themselves already diseased. Although the epidemic is SARS, in our film this is a metaphor for immorality and decadence. The script and concept were developed by students after much discussion. In shooting the film a single indoor location was used. The challenge was to transform an ordinary meeting room into a lavish home. ‘Back projection’ was the technique employed to create emphatically colorful and bizarre images that would reflect the moral chaos of the doomed revelers. The cinematography was entirely the work of the students.