Bringing Back the Memory – Taiwanese Film Restoration Experience

As we know, “watching movies” is one of the most significant entertainment for the preceding generations in Taiwan. However, what movies did people watch in the 1950s and 1960s? Due to the film strips being misplaced, the negligence of policies, and the lack of awareness of preserving cultural assets in the past, not many films are successfully restored today. Luckily, we have Dr. Ray Jiing, who has called for appeals and actions during his tenure as Director of Taiwan Film Institute, along with the professionals of video and sound restoration and preservation in College of Sound and Image Arts, Tainan National University of the Arts. We as the audiences, can finally trace back to the precious moments the older generations spent in the theater once upon a time.

Using two classic Taiwanese language films, The Fantasy of Deer Warrior and Love Amongst War, and various supplement cases of film restoration for “home videos”  as examples, Dr. Ray Jiing will give us an overview on the development of film restorations in Taiwan from both commercial and private perspectives. He will give us a virtual tour in “the restoration facilities” at Tainan National University of the Arts, to explain the importance and difficulty of film restoration, we could also witness the civilian culture in the history of Taiwan through the recovered film strips.