Celebrated Taiwanese Film "No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti" 不能沒有你 to Show at TECO-NY

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in New York and Asian CineVision will co-present the stunning new Taiwanese film "No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti" (Cannot Live Without You) on October 26th from 5:30 to 8:00 at TECO, located at 1 E 42nd St. in Midtown. The script writer and leading actor of the film, Wen-Pin Chen, will be on hand for Q&A following the screening, moderated by Mr. John Woo, Acting Director of Asian CineVision. A Chinese-style buffet dinner will be provided after the event.

"No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti" has received international accolades, winning Best Film among other awards at the 2009 Taipei Film Festival, the Grand Prize of Japan's Skip City International D-Cinema Festival, and Best Feature Film of South Africa's Durban International Film Festival. It has been selected to represent Taiwan in the competition for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2009 Oscars. The film will make its New York-area premiere at the 2009 FilmColumbia Festival on October 24th.

"No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti" is based upon real-life events and characters, and is shot entirely in black-and-white. Leon Dai, the film's director, made this choice because he felt he couldn’t find the proper colors to represent the tragic story. Dai originally worried such a choice might impact the film's widespread appeal, but his worry has proved to be unfounded. In the words of 2009 Seattle International Film Festival, "With strong visuals filmed in beautiful black and white, this is an emotional and satisfying film... it conveys a quest of love that knows no bounds."

This is a wonderful opportunity not to be missed for lovers of Taiwanese film. Seating is limited, so if you would like to attend please RSVP by contacting April Chen at 212-317-7356 or by e-mail at aprilchen@taipei.org.

************************************************
CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT YOU


SYNOPSIS

The film is based on real-life characters and incidents.

Wu-Hsiung, father of a seven-year-old girl, lives in a fishing village in Kaohsiung with his daughter. Despite his lower level of income, he leads a simple but satisfying life with the girl. When his daughter reaches the age for school, he has to struggle with the police department and the social workers for her custody and domicile registration. Driven by desperation for help, he dares to challenge society with daunting moves to fight for the right to live with his daughter…Adapted from a real life event in Taiwan happened at a difficult time, this is a movie that will touch your heart.

"The incident that inspired this film happened in 2003. More than six Taiwanese TV channels had live broadcast the man threatening to jump off the pedestrian bridge with his daughter. The coverage continued for about twenty minutes. However, no follow-ups of the news were seen on TV ever again.

I spent a long time thinking how to tell the story but I couldn't fine the right "color tone" for it. I realize that by making the film in simple black-and-white, it may be less appealing for the commercial market. But I hope the audience will be able to use more of their imagination and to give these images their own colors". -- Leon DAI (Director)

Leon DAI (DAI Li-Ren) is a well-known actor and director in Taiwan. He has participated in more than 30 films since 1993 and has been awarded several prizes for his work. His first short film, Summers (2001), was nominated for a film competition in the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. In 2002 he directed his first feature film, Twenty Something Taipei, which became the second-highest grossing film of the year in Taiwan. Cannot Live Without You is his second feature.

Someone once very smartly expanded the word “DAD” to “Dad and Daughter.” That's exactly what this movie stands for. A father (Wu-Hsuing), abandoned by his child's mother years ago, is left to bring up his little daughter (Mei).

All is fine between them, until the father is told he has to send her to school. He decides to educate his daughter to give her a better future, despite being uneducated himself and not having a proper job.

However, he has to first register her as part of his household, which is not possible, since he and the girl's mother were never married. He encounters politicians, law enforcement agencies, social welfare staff, which are all trying their level best to separate an uneducated father from his innocent daughter, in the name of child welfare, because he is supposedly incapable of taking care of his daughter.

With the help of his friend, he tries everything within his power to keep legal custody of his daughter. Will he succeed? This is a not a fictional journey, but a true story described in the name of the movie, “I Cannot Live Without You.”

This black and white film highlights the grey shades of Taiwanese society. It is important to be educated in order to be able to support your children. Most of us would agree to the fact that all parents, educated or uneducated, have the best interests of their children in mind.

Yet, the legal departments of the country are not formed to separate children from parents, but to ensure the safe and successful growth of each child under the loving and caring protection of their own parents.

Though this movie is very slow, and does not have much dialogue, it is a tear-jerker in certain intense moments. It's also an eye-opener for parents, who have a social responsibility toward the safety and development of their children.

The actor-turned-director Leon Dai wrote the screenplay together with the lead actor. It is a very touching true story based on a real incident in Taiwan in 2004. The role of the father, Li Wu-Hsiung, is played very convincingly by Chen Wen-Pin, who also produced the film.

During an exclusive interview with The China Post, director Dai said the movie has two basic universal elements. “One is the love between a parent and a child, and the other is the friction between an individual and the system. Both these ideas are recognized and acceptable worldwide. Most people – more than 95 percent – live under some system, and the system is never perfect. That is why we need to have people who can strive for changes in the system.”

Though it has been described as emotionally touching, the movie has been received somewhat differently in differnt parts of the world. According to Dai, European viewers found it to be a “beautiful film, showing a beauty of Taiwan they have never seen before,” while viewers in Asia see a kind of familiarity in the film, because it resembles the system they live with. "This bold film is a sort of thermometer measuring the friction that exists between individuals and the system in that country.

When asked about the reason for shooting the film in black & white, Leon explained that if it had been in color, the audience would have been under so much pressure, with all the colors of the dirt, blood, and grim surroundings that they would have disliked it. With B&W, viewers can watch it at a comfortable distance, without all the distractions, focusing more on the story itself.

Asked why a Taiwanese movie had a Spanish name, he noted that the English translation sounded just like the title of a love song, and that didn't fit with the idea of the film. So he accepted the suggestion of his South American friend, and used the Spanish title instead.

Just a few days after celebrating Chinese Father's Day (August 8 is celebrated in Taiwan as Father's Day because it sounds like Ba-ba, or father in Chinese), here comes a movie that makes us realize how important a father is. If you are ready for some heart-wrenching drama, I guess this is a good movie to remind people to think of their fathers during this special month.

(Source: China Post)

Starring : Wen-Pin CHEN (Wu-Hsiung Li), Yo-Hsuan CHAO (Mei)

Wen-Pin CHEN makes his debut as an actor in the movie. Chen used to be an independent film director. His documentary "SHIKANG STORY" was nominated for the best documentary in the 41st Golden Horse Awards. He directed and wrote the short film "ONCE UPON A TIME" and won the Platinum Remi Award at the 41st Houston International Film Festival.

Yo-Hsuan Chao was born in an artistic family. Both her parents are art workers. She is comfortable working with and being surrounded by adults, although she is only nine.