Taiwan has long been celebrated for its distinct cinematic landscape and producer Amy Ma believes this is due to the nation’s ever-evolving society.

“Taiwan is an island full of immigrants,” said Ma, one of the talents behind “Tales of Taipei,” which showcases 10 short films set in and around the capital.

“Anything can happen. If you walk down the street in Taiwan, you can see a temple on one side of the road, and on the other, there is a church. Thus, various religions, gender identities, etcetera, merge very well together in this one place.”

Perhaps this is why Taiwanese filmmakers have never been fixed on one genre or style. A look at the selection of films from the country at this year’s Far East Film Festival (FEFF), in Udine, northern Italy, certainly highlights Taiwanese cinema’s diversity.

This year’s FEFF - which bills itself as a bridge between Asian commercial cinema and the world - featured four Taiwanese films in competition and a documentary that focuses on the life and times of the influential Taiwanese filmmaker Chiu Fu-sheng ( 邱復生).

When asked on the sidelines of FEFF about the characteristics of contemporary Taiwanese cinema, the director of the trans-generational 1980s-set drama “Old Fox” (2024), Hsiao Ya-chuan (萧雅全), said Taiwanese filmmakers aim to find inspiration from their day-to-day lives. 

This is essentially what he is doing with “Old Fox,” which looks at a quotidian struggle in the middle of extreme economic turmoil around 1989. In the film, the daily routines or challenges characters face are strongly intertwined with outside influences. 

Amy Ma’s theme of an immigrant nation would be one reason why the concept of “feeling different” runs through much of Taiwanese cinema.

The sense of not being able to connect with other kids at school is explored in Chin Chia-hua’s (靳家驊) debut feature “Trouble Girl (2023).” It is a social drama that focuses on the daily life of a young pupil with ADHD. 

This topic has rarely been discussed in Taiwanese cinema before. While there is a distracting subplot of an affair between the girl’s mom and schoolteacher, the film’s visual language is complex and profound.

In the love story that drives “18x2 Beyond Youthful Days,” directed by Michihito Fujii, one of the main characters is Ami, who travels from Japan to Taiwan. She is not only foreign because of her nationality but feels different because she hides a tragic secret. 

“Tales of Taipei” creates a homage to Taipei as a cultural capital by young filmmakers and gives these emerging talents a chance to share their voices.

“The project was about teamwork,” Amy Ma said. “We chose young directors and wanted to create an opportunity for them to work with other people.”

This collaborative spirit captures the abundant proficiency of the new generation of Taiwanese filmmakers. All of them have their own specific style and are what Ma calls “bold and creative”. 

There was also much talk at FEFF this year about an increase in co-productions between Taiwan and other Asian countries. As another producer of “Tales of Taipei,” Bowie Tsang, put it, this is a conscious process.

It is a consequence of Taiwanese filmmakers searching for an outside perspective, wanting to open up and understand how foreigners see their country. With this understanding, Taiwanese cinema will continue to evolve.

Greta Vilnele attended the 26th Far East Film Festival as part of an initiative for aspiring critics, writers, and film industry creatives.