Taiwan's New Wave cinema captivates Prague, stunning Czech film fans with classic masterpieces

The footprint of Taiwanese cinema in the international film arena has extended once again to Central Europe, as a special film exhibition titled "Taiwanese New Wave Cinema" grandly opened in the Czech capital of Prague on the 17th local time. The festival carefully selected a number of masterworks from the pantheon of Taiwanese film history, including classic masterpieces by Hou Hsiao-hsien, Edward Yang, and Tsai Ming-liang, while also incorporating the contemporary, internationally acclaimed award-winning documentary "Gods of Youth" (published internationally as *A Holy Family*). Through this screening series, Czech audiences are given a glimpse into the trajectory of Taiwanese cinema breaking free from historical fractures to step onto the world stage, while deeply experiencing the pulse of the era and the unique narrative charm of Taiwan's local culture.

The National Film Archive of the Czech Republic, which hosted the exhibition, specifically pointed out during the opening ceremony that the Taiwanese New Wave holds a pivotal position in world film history. Looking back at the inception of this wave, it coincided with a critical era of transition for Taiwanese society. At that time, a group of young filmmakers bravely broke through past conservative censorship taboos and political constraints, boldly abandoning the officially customary Mandarin Chinese in favor of Taiwan's local languages to tell the stories belonging to this land. This creative attitude of returning to reality and gazing intently at the lives of ordinary people not only spawned countless immortal works that received high acclaim at international film festivals, but also perfectly embodied film's vital mission of preserving collective memory and serving as a historical witness.

This special film exhibition held in Prague is not only a cultural feast paying tribute to several Taiwanese film masters, but also carries profound historical and geopolitical dialogic significance. The Czech Republic itself boasts a glorious yet turbulent film history, particularly the "Czech New Wave" movement of the 1960s, which similarly used artistic creation to demonstrate critique of reality and care for humanity under the oppression of authoritarian power and censorship systems. Although separated by time and space, the New Wave cinemas of the two countries share a high degree of resonance in their spiritual cores. Czech directors of that era, such as Milos Forman, much like the pioneers of the later Taiwanese New Wave, used their lenses to capture the destinies of ordinary people under the weight of grand eras. This cross-cultural artistic resonance enables Prague audiences to generate strong historical empathy and emotional connection when viewing the works of Hou Hsiao-hsien or Edward Yang.

In addition to reviewing the master classics of the 1980s and 1990s, this exhibition also extends its perspective to the diverse facets of contemporary Taiwanese cinema, specially screening the documentary "Gods of Youth" (*A Holy Family*), which has shone brightly on the international film stage in recent years. This work continues the core concerns of the Taiwanese New Wave regarding "family," "land," and "personal identity," recording the director's own process of healing with his family of origin through an extremely intimate and sincere lens. Placing New Wave classics side-by-side with contemporary documentaries demonstrates to Czech audiences that Taiwanese cinema does not merely linger in past glory, but is continuously inherited and innovated by generation after generation of filmmakers, while steadily shining brightly on the international stage and exhibiting resilient vitality.

Cultural diplomacy often requires building lasting connections through deep aesthetic exchanges. The Taiwanese New Wave film exhibition held in this instance in the Czech Republic serves as an important practice for planting Taiwan's soft power deeply in Central and Eastern Europe. Through these cinematic works that profoundly depict Taiwan's social changes, historical traumas, and human struggles, the Czech public is able to transcend geographical and linguistic barriers, gaining a multi-dimensional and authentic understanding of Taiwan's past and present. In an era of globalization and the widespread popularity of digital streaming, such physical film archive special screenings appear all the more precious; they not only allow classic films to be reborn on the silver screen, but also add a substantial brick to the cultural bridge between Taiwan and the Czech Republic.

(Fact source: Central News Agency)