Taiwan is a model of multiculturalism and a laboratory for identity at the crossroads of several different worlds. In turn the birthplace of secular aboriginal civilisations, a haven for pirates and loyalists, and the subject of several colonizations (western and Japanese), Taiwan is part of the Republic of China whilst maintaining a conflictual relationship with the mainland and embarked upon a fruitful exchange with its Western counterparts as soon as the Second World War ended. Its cinema refl ects the complexity of its society, which is both modernized and attached to its cultural heritage, and is well-known to fi lm enthusiasts thanks to its great auteurs - Hou Hsiao-hsien, Tsai Ming-liang, Edward Yang, Ang Lee - who have succeeded in creating new means and forms of expression.  But despite its popularity both locally and across Asia, it also holds treasures hidden from the Western eye.

This book brings together different cultures, infl uences and approaches in a mosaic of new viewpoints on Taiwan’s rich and unique cinematography: the authors invite the curious reader to discover representations of aborigines, landscapes, towns and the island’s legendary locations, to examine the meaning of national cinema, to explore new trends and rediscover the most well-known authors’ works, and to investigate the relationship between Formosa and the rest of Asia... Enjoy the journey!

This book comes with a DVD (2 hours of interviews with english and french subtitles).