The battle after 'Seediq Bale'
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CRI, December 13, 2011
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Taiwan Film Director WEI Te-sheng [Photo: mtime.com] |
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Poster of the Film, "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale" [Photo: mtime.com] |
Taiwan film director WEI Te-sheng is attending the Dubai International Film Festival to present the new international cut of his film "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale". He talked to Film Business Asia about his plans for the film in China, the problems of working with the government and the responsibilities of local producers in 2012.
How do the various versions of the film differ?
Audiences in Taiwan were already somewhat familiar with the story, so I was trying to go deeper in the four-and-a-half hour version. I wanted to give them a better understanding of the true history of the island, and of the realities of the Japanese occupation. I also wanted to help exorcice the hatred that the natives have for the Japanese, to take a step towards reconciliation.
In our history — the textbook version of our history — the natives have always been portrayed quite negatively. And all the characters other than Mouna Rudo are presented as villains. Before one can have reconciliation, one has to come to terms with the true history of the island, not the distortions. But that is something I could only try to capture in the four-and-a-half hour version of the film.
For international audiences, I just want to introduce them to the fact that Taiwan has different ethnic cultures and as such it has different ways of thinking about how to live and about the meaning of freedom. Most importantly, I wanted to tell the story of the island from the natives' point of view, and this new version keeps that spirit central to the film.
The version that screened in Venice told the film's narrative without depicting the emotional background of the characters. In the two-film version that was released in Taiwan and Hong Kong, I focused on all the characters and gave particular attention to the rival tribe led by Temu Walis. But in the international versions I focus almost exclusively on Mouna Rudo and his tribe. I'm finally satisfied with this new cut.
The film is near the end of its domestic theatrical run. Has it broken even?
We have a very good deal with Taiwan distributors who return 60% of the box office revenue, and the film has already been sold to about a dozen territories worldwide including the United States and South America as well as many European and Asian territories. The major international territories that have still to complete deals are Japan and South Korea.
Our partner in China only applied to the State Administration of Radio, Film & Television (SARFT) for a distribution licence last week. They submitted the new international cut of the film that is playing in Dubai, but in a version with less violence, with less of a focus on the on-screen decapitations. When you talk about Seediq the tribe, you can't ignore head-hunting because it's so central to their culture, which is why I show it at the very beginning of the film.
There is less than two minutes difference between the international and the China version so it's essentially the very same film. I've been thinking about the China version for a long time and discussing it with my production team and sales agent, but because I've been so close to this film for the past decade, it's been a difficult and slow process for me to finalise it.
How do Japanese buyers respond to the film?
Our sales agent Fortissimo Films showed the film to some of their Japanese clients at international film festivals, and they could accept the film and felt that it had the same power as it has for Taiwan audiences. Although Japanese audiences may find it difficult to accept the story, they should see the film to better understand their own history. A long time ago there were Japanese films about the Taiwan colonisation, but they generally didn't focus on the aborigines, only on the Han Chinese. So I think the film is just as fresh and new to Japanese audiences.
Do you have any concerns about the film's international marketing?
I don't mind how it's marketed to audiences in different countries. The most important thing is to get people into the cinema to watch the film. Audiences in Hong Kong expected something heavy and felt a kind of pressure going in — like they were about to have a four-and-a-half hour history lesson — but after watching it, they really liked the film and had a very positive response to it.
How did you find the actors who played the natives?
We had contacts with the village heads, and the church leaders, and they took us to every single family, knocking on every single door. Funnily enough, the very first person who helped us was LIN Ching-tai who ended up playing the role of the older Mouna, the main actor in the film. But it was really difficult to persuade the actors to take time off from their work in the mountains because they knew that they might not be able to return to their jobs. The young Mouna was a truck driver; he hasn't returned yet and now has an agent in Taipei.
What will be the legacy of this film in Taiwan film history?
The Taiwan film market is like a city fortress for film-makers to conquer. There are different gates through which one can enter the city and there are different layers of defence. Cape No. 7 broke thorugh one of the gates, Monga another. But nobody dared attack the main gate until Warriors of the Rainbow. 2011 was a year when armies were led by their generals — the film directors — to finally conquer the city fortress. But now we need people to manage the day-to-day running of the city. And from 2012, I think it's the job of Taiwan producers to hold the city's defences.
Does Taiwan have enough strong producers?
From next year, there will be a battle between producers. There are many producers in Taiwan, but if they want to survive in this new era, they have to have vision, ambition and ability. For the next two years, there are bound to be many conflicts between them, because everyone wants to rule the city fortress. This is inevitable. Even if there are many conflicts between them, I hope they don't let the city fall.
We need somebody who is a spiritual leader to take the industry into a certain direction and to find and create a workable system in Taiwan. We can't copy the Hollywood model; it wouldn't work in Taiwan. For example, many people working on Warriors of the Rainbow were unpaid for several months; perhaps we need to introduce a system whereby they also can share in the profits. This spiritual leader could either be a governmental figure or a heavyweight person in the cultural industry.
And in the long term?
I hope that in the long term the Taiwan film industry will be independent from the government and government subsidies. The government is certainly moving in the right direction, but the many problems of the Taiwan film industry can't only be solved with money. Money is important now precisely because there is no sustainable working system. At least right now we have some basic level of financial support.
One of the most serious problems when working with the government right now is the lack of cross-department communication. The Government Information Office can't be the sole point of contact in charge of films; when you build a set, for example, one also has to talk to the environmental department.
The next problem is that every government department is under scrutiny from legislators. Because of this, officials are always cautious so as not to questioned by their seniors. Because of this pressure, they're not capable of making the big leaps that are necessary for the film industry to take the next step forward.
But ultimately, I'd like to perceive film-making not so much as an industry but as a part of everyone's everyday life. Directors should make films because they love making films and audiences should see films because they love going to the cinema. The audience came to see Seediq Bale because it was an event movie, a so-called "must-see film", but I hope that going to the cinema will return to being something natural the whole year around, for both Taiwan films and for foreign films.
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