The Taiwan film industry in 2024 stands at a fascinating crossroads, marked by a renaissance of creativity, a bold embrace of storytelling and genre diversity, and an increasing presence on the global stage with major exposure on the film festival circuit. Over the years, Taiwan’s cinematic output has evolved significantly, reflecting the island’s rich cultural heritage, political complexity, and innovative spirit. The four films that make up this year’s SPOTLIGHT ON TAIWAN represent said genre diversity. 

In HUNTER BROTHERS (Director: SU Hung-en) is a family drama wrapped around a dark secret–Two brothers are haunted by the accidental death of their father during a hunting expedition in the mountains a few years before. Starring HSU Yi-fan and Umin Boya of SEEDIQ BALE fame, this slow burn mystery puts a spotlight on Taiwan’s indigenous population and does so with alacrity and narrative heft from the main cast. 

Noted Youtube content creator turned filmmaker John Hsu (of video game to film adaptation DETENTION) breaks the sophomore slump with DEAD TALENTS SOCIETY, a hilarious supernatural comedy that shows the afterlife is just as competitive than in real life. The newly expired who wish to survive in the dog-eat-dog world of ghostdom need to become the spookiest and most successful of urban legends by coming up with the best scares and haunts against the living to “survive.” It’s a novel concept, as if the classic film GHOST ultimately had Patrick Swayze figuring out his parasocial Q rating with great Google Analytics. 

WHO’LL STOP THE RAIN from director SU I-hsuan, is an LGBTQ+ drama that revolves around two female students who get swept up in the island’s longest student strike during the early days of the post-martial law era of 1994. The coming-of-age sapphic romance cuts to the heart of a Taiwan still adjusting to its post-martial law reality. 

Finally, HIFF celebrates with a special presentation of OLD FOX from director HSIAO Ya-chuan, is a family drama about an 11-year-old boy who befriends his landlord–nicknamed Old Fox–and learns from him how to survive in a rapidly changing world. A box office hit that also garnered critical success at film festivals, the film was chosen as Taiwan’s official entry to the Academy Awards Best International Feature category. 

As Taiwan’s filmmakers continue to push the boundaries of storytelling and explore new formats, they are also helping to shape the island’s cultural identity in an increasingly interconnected world. The stories told through Taiwanese cinema in 2024 not only reflect the island’s unique experiences but also contribute to a broader dialogue about the human condition, making Taiwan an essential voice in Asian cinema.

Interestingly, they have all returned to Taiwan to work and contribute to local cinema culture, with some of them working with esteemed and established maestros. A perfect example is Wern-ying Hwarng, who returned to Taiwan and worked as an apprentice to Hou Hsiao-hsien (CITY OF SADNESS), but in a different capacity, primarily in production and art design. Hwarng established herself as one of the most lauded designers in her field, garnering seven Golden Horse nominations alone. Her transition to director, is a milestone, with BE WITH ME opening the upcoming Golden Horse Film Festival after HIFF concludes.

FU Tien-yu also transitioned from novelist to filmmaker, who was also educated at New York University. DAY OFF, based on her hometown upbringing, is enhanced by the cinematic return of veteran actress Lu Hsiao-Fen, who graces the screen for the first time in over twenty years; A GIRL OUT OF THE COUNTRY‘s CHIU Hsin-Ta directs a film that is very much a throwback to family melodramas, starring popular TV actress Jean Kao; and Sen-I Yu’s MY HEAVENLY CITY is a love letter to New York City, her adopted home, in a triptych of stories about immigrants and the challenges of being of loneliness, cultural barriers and finding your own voice–an apropos, classic story of new possibilities and finding your voice in a new city, especially one as iconic as New York.

The fact that all the Taiwanese directors in this year’s spotlight had international education are were based in the West, shows this unique trend of Taiwanese citizens studying abroad and returning to be active members of the industry.