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Developed alongside Michael Lin’s exhibition Tea Towels and Serviettes at La Loge, this film programme explores Taiwan New Cinema, a movement that emerged in the 1980s amid profound social, political, and cultural transformations. Its filmmakers captured a society in transition, connecting intimate stories with broader collective histories.
Taking this movement as a point of departure, Michael Lin invites the Taiwanese collective P.M.S. to expand the conversation through a selection of fiction films and documentaries. Bringing together landmark works and lesser-seen narratives, the programme explores different perspectives on Taiwan’s cultural and social histories, including experiences often marginalised in cinema.
The Man from Island West (1989)
西部來的人
黃明川 Huang Mingchuan
Fiction, 90 min.
The Man From Island West is often regarded as Taiwan’s first independent film, as well as the island’s first fiction feature to explore Indigenous people through their inner emotional and psychological world. This perspective is particularly conveyed through the recurring voice-over narration of an Atayal legend.
Huang is widely regarded as one of the most influential film directors and creators in contemporary Taiwanese cinema. In 1989, he completed his debut film, The Man from Island West (西部來的人), generally considered Taiwan’s first independently produced film. He subsequently directed Bodo (寶島大夢) and Flat Tyre (破輪胎). Together, these three works are collectively known as the “Mythology Trilogy.”
Free admission, upon reservation