 Greetings, everyone. Welcome to the last Director Q&A session of the Taiwan Post-New Wave Cinema series. I'm Biuzhang, the Deputy Director of the Center of Taiwan Studies. It is our pleasure to welcome Director Zheng Youjie, today one of the most important younger generation filmmakers in Taiwan. This week, we screened one of his earliest work, Summer Dream, Shi Ding's summer, and also some of his most important feature films, such as Do-over, Yi Nian Zhi Chu, Yang Yang, and the first episode of his TV series, Days We Stare at the Sun. Moreover, we really love his work, Wa Wa No Sido, Tai Yang's child, and it had been screened three times in the last three years, as so was. On Wednesday, Dr. Christopher Brown analyzed Zheng's films brilliantly. We learned a lot about his stylistic versatility, his emphasis on this kind of performance, and also the use of handheld camera, not to mention the critical approach that he, in his films, towards identity, both personal and national. Today, you have the opportunity to ask him further questions. I'm sure there are plenty to follow. As usual, I would like to thank our funder, the Ministry of Culture Taiwan, and the Cultural Division at the Taipei Representative Office in the UK, and also express our gratitude to the assistance of the Taiwan Film Institute. Without their generous support, it would not have been possible for us to launch such an ambitious project. Please be aware this session is recorded. I would appreciate it if you could turn off your audio and video functions and to enhance the quality of the session. To ask questions, please post it in the chat column you can find on the top. It is open now. So could you please post only one question at a time, at least, and keep them succinct? Our Assistant Curator Shaoyi will then collate the questions and present them to the Director. So to start off this Q&A session, Director Zheng would like to say a few words. So, You Jie, over to you. Okay. Hello everyone. I'm glad to have the opportunity to speak to everyone and interact with all of you on this topic of social life cinema. So this time the films that we have in this series are mostly from my earlier work. Probably the latest work from these films is the second season of Days We Stare at the Sun. So this particular work is probably the last work, the last one of my young work. I recently shot a film in Taiwan called Dear Tenant. The difference between this work and the previous work is that the biggest difference is that the previous work may be more. So my latest work, which is called Dear Tenant, and it is currently screening in Taiwan. And this work is a little bit different from my previous work. And the biggest difference is that in my previous work, they tend to convey a more straightforward emotion. But in Dear Tenant, all the emotions become a bit more subtle and perhaps a little bit ambivalent. So when I look back on these earlier works of mine, it feels a little bit like revisiting my old photo album. So these earlier works might not be that mature, but they do have a unique beauty to these old works. And I'm happy to share my feelings with the audience. Thank you very much. As the host or the chair of this session, I think I got the privilege, I was given the privilege to ask the first sets of questions. So, Yoji, I'm going to ask in Chinese first, then I'll translate it into English first, then Shaoyu will come in to also help you. Okay, thank you. Okay. The first question is, I feel very experienced in the first year of my life. The structure of the story and the transition of time and space are very special. So, at least at that time, in the general Taiwanese movies, it's not very common. So, as the first step in the first year of your life, the story is long. So, although you are not born in the movie industry, I think it's very interesting how your movie aesthetics and skills are developed. Okay. Now, you think about it, then I'll translate. I was quite struck by do-over. For example, the interviewing of the five storylines, the long close-ups, and also the use of handheld camera technique, they have all given this film a kind of urgency or intensity and instability. So, although this is your first full-length feature film, do-over doesn't look like a film that made by a new director. I wonder how you develop your own cinematic aesthetics, as well as techniques, since your background was in economics, not trained in filmmaking. Many of my movies are based on Hollywood movies, or film-sharing movies. For example, at that time, I especially liked a movie like Pop Fiction. And then I got some impressions. So, I always look to Hollywood films and the film festival's inspiration. And at a point, I was pretty upset in Pop Fiction, and so that probably also influenced my stylistic. That's because Taiwan's film, in the world, everyone has a certain impression of Taiwan's film. As a young director at that time, if you want to make your first film, you will be very determined to make a film that is different from the previous Taiwanese film. So, at that time, I thought everyone has a very stereotypical impression of Taiwan's cinema. So, as a young filmmaker at that time, I wanted to make a difference and to set myself apart from the stereotype. But actually, at that time, in fact, in these 15 years, gradually, I absorbed a lot of the so-called Taiwanese new cinema's nourishment. But I still added my own things. However, in recent years, in these around these 15 years, I've been learning and taking And I've been getting inspiration from Taiwan's new cinema. But I also add my own stuff, and so it becomes more of a hybrid style with different elements and inspiration. The first time I made a film, a lot of things were intuition. And then the image style, our photographer, Jake Pollack, gave us a very strong image style. His main character in the image style is very strong. So, when I made my film for the first time, a lot of decisions were instinctual. And also, our cinematographer, Jake Pollack, has a very strong style of his own, and he also contributed a lot to the stylistic decision. And then, the photographer of the first year and Yang Yang are all Jake Pollack. And he's a American. But he's half Taiwanese now, because his wife is Taiwanese. So, Jake Pollack was the cinematographer for both Joe Over and Yang Yang. He was an American, but now he's half Taiwan, and his wife is also Taiwanese. Okay. Okay, thank you. I see quite a lot of questions already being posted, so I will leave mine to the last if we got time. Okay, good. So, Shao Yi, would you like to take over? Thank you. Yeah, but I'm wondering if Jaffet and Wafa would like to post their own questions. Can I read them? Okay. Okay, maybe Wafa first. Okay, hi. Hi. Hello, Director Jiang. I would like to know a little more about your actors' direction methods. If you leave space for improvisation, and because you use a lot of long shots, sometimes I really would like to know how you work with your actors. Thank you. Thank you. Do you want to know the method in my early work, or in general? In general, and if there was changes in the way you work. Oh. Oh, I'm sorry, I still use Chinese. I'm a little afraid that I can't speak English well. Okay. Can I answer? Yeah, you can. Okay. I usually give actors more space, and then I, because I myself am an actor, then my favorite way of acting is to not be interrupted in the middle of my performance. So I take every shot, I try to make it a whole scene. That is, from the beginning to the end. I'll answer that first. Oh, that's it. So, for me, I usually give more space of improvisation to my actors, because I'm also an actor myself. So, for me, my own preference is not to be interrupted. That's why I also, so usually I'll let them do a whole take or a whole sequence. And then, especially in my latest work, my preparation work will become more and more before shooting and communication with the actors. Once it's done, I'll let them take control over the acting. And then, I usually do all the preparation before the shooting starts. So I will communicate with the actors before the shooting happens. But once it starts, I'll let them take control over the acting. And then, when shooting at the scene, I don't really like shooting, but I'll take control over it. And then, after taking control over it, I'll take the first take directly. And then, usually, I like to use the first take. So, the first take, everyone will be very serious about it. So usually, what do you usually do? Usually, I only do technical rehearsal and blocking. It's a camera position. It's a position of the camera, no? Not the position of the camera, but the actor. We only do it for technical rehearsal. But after that, we shoot the first take. And usually, I cherish the first take very much because I think first take is always the best one, the most natural. So I cherish the first take. I just used English. Yes. Have you finished? Sometimes, I shoot it as if I don't have second take. But we usually do it a lot. But first take is always the best one. Okay. I think so. Is that okay? Yeah, this is perfect. Does the staff want to come with? Yeah. Hi there. I wanted to ask about your short film, and it's a film that I often show in my class. And the students always laugh a lot. And the discussion is really interesting. And even though it's a very short film, it creates a lot of different kind of topics. So I wanted, when you could talk a little bit about how you made this film. Did you start off with the ending? I'm just curious about the way you made this film. Okay. It comes all at once. I mean, the whole story was there in my mind. It's already there. And I just wrote it out. And it's very ironic. Because when I shot the short film on written rule, it was 2011, I guess. Yeah, 2011. And yeah, 2011, you know. And at that time, the, the, let's say, China's review is still not that serious. Can you translate this for me? Okay. At that time, the censorship from mainland China was not as strict as nowadays. But I had my doubts at that time, which is 10 years ago. So I was thinking, I was predicting that it would probably become a lot more strict. But at that time, all the people around me were not open to discussing this matter. Because everyone was very accepting. For example, in the short film, for example, we would hide our own national flag, or avoid some words that China is talking about. But at that time, no one would publicly discuss this kind of issue. And everyone kind of accepted, accepted this status quo. And for example, like hiding flag and avoiding particular words or rhetoric. That makes me feel very strange. Why no one dares to protest? No one dares to, even if you don't want to protest, no one is willing to point out the image of the room. So I felt very strange. So I wonder why no one ever resisted or even just points to the elephant in the room. And that was 2011. So that time it was 2011. And then in 2019-2020, when I look back at that short film, I feel very strange and very sad. And now when I look back on this film in 2019, it makes me feel very ironic and sad about the situation. Because when I was filming, in my heart, I had a very naive thought. I felt that if I was watching this film 10 years later, everyone would think that I was thinking too much. How good would that be? When I was making that film in 2011, I had this naive thought that perhaps after 10 years, we'll look back and just laugh at how Zheng Youjie has overthought about the matter. That will be a really great scenario. But unfortunately, it's not. But that means that isn't the case. Now in Taiwan, as long as we're filming a film or acting, sometimes these rules are no longer on written rules. It will be written in the contract. It will be written in the contract. That will make sure that your political situation is not a problem or that you don't do anything. Now in some contracts, it's written on written rules. Today, when you work in Taiwan, like making films or acting, in a lot of situations, these rules are no longer unwritten rules, but actually written in contrast. You have to make sure you won't make any political statement. And now, yeah, that's it. You can continue. No, but now, actually, it's not that we'll have a public discussion, but actually, everyone knows. This is a thing that everyone knows. And then, people in the actors' circle won't have a public discussion, but people in the actors' circle, everyone's always discussing. Why? Why? Because everyone wants to... The first thing is that, on the one hand, they don't want to affect their future work. And then, they don't want to affect other people. That is, everyone will think that this thing doesn't only affect themselves, but it will affect other people, for example, working with me. So, in this industry, very few people will have a public discussion. I know that, other than me, there are a few directors who will have a public discussion. Like, Lin Hui Ren, the director. Then, Zheng Wen Tang, the director, that's fine. But other people won't have a public discussion. Yeah. Of course, there are some directors who will have a public discussion. Like, the previous directors, Yeah, they may have a public discussion, but there are a few directors who will have a public discussion. Nowadays, no one openly talks about these issues. But actually, everyone knows about the situation. And especially, people in the entertainment industry, they try to avoid these issues, even though everyone knows about it. The reason is that they don't want to affect their career and they don't want to affect other people and the people who work with them. Apart from me, there's only a handful few directors who address these issues in their work. There are also some documentary filmmakers who address these issues, but otherwise, everyone tends to keep quiet. Lin Hui Ren, the director, has a documentary that focuses on talking about these issues. And then, he should be called, I don't know what the word is called. I don't know how to pronounce the word, but he has a documentary about these issues. Yeah, we screened that film a couple of years ago. Yeah, two years ago. Which one? Lin Hui Ren's film, the one about... Oh, Kong. Yeah, Kong. Could I ask you one little follow-up question? Come on, then. Okay, one kind of follow-up, following on Waffa's one. Was that all mainly first take? And was the script entirely scripted, or was there some improvisation? It's all in script, yeah. Nothing in that short film, nothing is improvisation. And was it all first take? Oh, no, no, no, no, no. We cherish the first take, but for safety, we always shoot a lot of take. I mean, I just shoot it as if we don't have second take, but yeah, actually, we do. Yes. Yeah. Okay, I think, yeah, perhaps. Okay. So the next question is from Dong Lai. So the rise of genre films in Taiwan has been discussed a lot in some of the earlier events. And I would like to learn about your take on the rise of genre film. What kind of genres would become even more prominent? What are your observations as an insider in the industry? Thank you. Yes, yes. I think the rise of genre films in Taiwan has been very common recently, because genre films are popular. And the best genre films are horror films, horror films. Then horror films should be the future, which is that they will always be in Taiwan, which is a genre that will be popular every year. I think the rise of genre films is a very normal scenario. And I think the most popular genre film right now is horror films, and they'll probably stay popular in the near future. And they tend to make quite a lot of horror films every year. But I don't dare to film because I will make a mistake. But I don't want to make horror films because I'll probably have nightmares. So I think the next question is from Professor Chris Berry. Would you like to show up and ask a question? I'm just trying to get myself turned on. Over the last few weeks when we've had discussions about recent Taiwan film culture, we've been meeting directors, but we've noticed how you guys are all very flexible, very versatile. And you're probably the most extreme example because you're an actor, a director, a producer, a screenwriter. I think also you've even edited some films and so on. So I wonder what your thoughts are about this phenomenon of kind of multitasking and how do you think about yourself, your own professional identity? If people ask you what do you do, how do you answer that question? Generally, I'll say I'm a director. But actually, I prefer to be an actor rather than a director. But not so many directors want me to act in their films. So I have to make my own film. But speaking of multitasking, actually, I don't think it's a very healthy way for me. But... Sorry, I still need to translate. Sorry. I think it's not so healthy for me to do a lot of work once in a while because it will take away too much of my physical strength and time. But I often do it because... First of all, it's because of the budget. Under the very low budget, I can do a lot of things by myself and save a lot of money. No matter if it's the cost of communication or the cost of waste. I'll translate for you. Thank you. I think doing multiple jobs at the same time is actually not very healthy for me. It really consumes my energy and time. But I still do that. And the first reason is budget. So if I multitask, I can save budget, for example, in communication, et cetera. Yes. And then... But it gradually became a habit of mine to create. As for me now, even if I may work with others now, I will still write my own script. It becomes two people writing or in the end, I still have to rewrite again. And then, even if I always look for another person to write, I will always have a version of myself to rewrite again. I will explain the short part later. How multitasking has become a habit and an important part of my own creative process. So even though nowadays I work with other scriptwriters, I still like to write the script. So sometimes I co-write with the scriptwriter or I write a new version after having a version from the scriptwriter. And also in terms of editing, I also tend to have a version that is edited completely by myself. In terms of editing, the first thing I will do when editing is to repair the performance of the actors. So I will let all the actors perform in a certain way and let the actors perform in a certain way or not let the actors see it. I always think that half of the performance is done only when editing. So this work is very important to me. I have to finish the performance by myself when editing. I will try. So in the process of editing, I sometimes edit the performance of the actors in a way that makes the performance more homogeneous. And in the other hand, I also don't want the actors to see the bad part, the bad part of the film. So for me, editing actually completes the performance and editing is a part of performing. And I feel like I want to complete this performance entirely by myself. Yes, that's right. And also, I am very persistent about editing. So my so-called editing is not a simple editing, but a flow of the scene. It's hard to explain, but it's a flow of time in some way. That thing is often only, I should say that thing is I have my own persistence about that kind of flow of time. So I also need to completely invest in editing to let that flow of time show up in my hand so that I can do the next work. Okay. I'm also worried that I won't be able to convey it. This is hard to translate. I know. Sorry. It's the rhythm. It's mainly the rhythm. But I can't see it. What I want to see is the rhythm that I can't see. So if I leave this to another editor, it will become the rhythm that only I can see. But for me, what I care the most is the rhythm that I can't see. And I'm very persistent about that. So for me, rhythm is a very, very important thing for me. It's not the rhythm in the process of editing, but the rhythm that is expressed through the flow of time in film. So it's something that can't be seen or heard. I'm very insistent on expressing this flow of time. And the thing is, if I let other people take control of editing, they will make it into something that can be seen. But for me, not being able to see it is more important. That's why I want to take the editing in my own hands. Thank you. And then in other parts, I also may have a lot of parts that I can take control of. For example, editing, or so-called editing, is to invest in myself. Or I will participate a lot in the marketing. Of course, this is also because I invest in myself, so I will do a lot of things on the marketing side, including decision-making and execution. I will probably do it myself. Because there are some parts that I can do by myself. As long as I can do it through Facebook or IG, I can do it myself. So, apart from editing, there are a lot of parts that I also like to take control in a film. For example, producing the film. So I invest I would like to invest in my own film. So to make it more complete, I will also take part in the marketing of my own film. So I'm very interested in the marketing strategy from planning to carrying out because, for example, in terms of social media like Facebook or Instagram, it's something that doesn't cost a lot. So I would like to do that by myself. Thank you. Yeah, it should be that I have some colleagues with me. But I will take part in a lot of strategies. I also work closely with my colleagues but I would like to take part in the marketing and the planning. Okay. Thank you. I think our next question is from Carol. So Carol is asking about a summer dream in the summer. It reminds of her own experience as a young foreign woman in Taiwan in 1992. So was your actress actually doing the thing around her for your film? Did she and many of the other actors have any acting experience? Yes. She's also interested in how you were inspired to create the storyline. Is it from your own perspective as a young man or is it an interest in the young woman situation? Yes. Do you need to translate this? Yes. Thank you. This audience really likes the summer in the summer. It reminds of her when she was younger as a foreigner working in Taiwan. In 1992 that actress how did you find her? She was also teaching her. Did she have any acting experience? Did you get inspired to write this film? What was your starting point? Thank you. Good. The question is it's a Chinese exchange student that has no big differences. The actress is really from Quebec and at that time she came to study in Taiwan as a Chinese in Taiwan as an exchange student. How did you find her? She was not a professional actress so she seemed to have only filmed in the summer and I didn't have any acting and she later worked in exchange. She lived in Taiwan for a long time seems to have been in Europe recently. Did you say she worked in Taiwan and Canada? No, she worked in some work between Canada and Taiwan. Before I'm sorry but she didn't continue acting but she did other work. She's not a professional actress and as far as I know Summer Dream is the only film she took part in and after that she did a lot of other work for example some kind of some kind of exchange she worked on some exchange programs between Taiwan and Canada but she did live for a long time in Taiwan and afterwards she moved to Europe. Thank you. As for the other actors the actress who played the grandma is no longer a professional actress and she's been acting for a long time and the other actor is now a famous actress and she's been acting until now. As for the other actors the actress who played the grandma is no longer with us now and she used to be a stage actress and she she did her work mostly in plays and the protagonist the young man is now already an established actress. Thank you. As for my thinking or motivation actually I didn't have any roots my culture at that time I felt my culture was empty I tried to imitate western culture in Taiwan but it was a successful standard for me I was very suspicious at that time and I think I'll stop here. Thank you. As for the motivation for that film at that time I realized I had no roots and I felt that my culture is pretty much empty so this is my thought at that time so people were usually and at that time I had also been trying to imitate western culture and that's pretty much the mindset of every young person at that time and they feel that they must study abroad and doing that is a mark of success so I was quite skeptical about that mindset I will think what Taiwan has and what I have at that time for me it seems to be a big issue so I was thinking about my own roots and the roots of Taiwan and this was a big a very big issue for me that I was constantly thinking about but at that time that was my 20 years ago these thoughts have a lot of changes in these 20 years of course that was my thought 20 years ago and after 20 years my thoughts have been undergoing a lot of change okay our next question is from Ludin Claire Claire is very interested in your film aesthetic which seems totally connected to the story you are trying to tell for example in summer dreams the extreme close up of leaves in a vast which connect the Canadian girl at the beginning to the Taiwanese girlfriend at the end to explain more about your aesthetic choices and do these come more from the cinematographer or from the director and the storyteller this audience is very interested in your film aesthetic she thinks your aesthetic and your story are directly connected in the summer we often see that plant a close up lens that plant she thinks this plant actually connects the Canadian girl with the Taiwanese girl at the end of the film can you explain your choices these are your decision to make or you as a director and the story is your choice this is my choice and then about the plant is actually it is when it was picked it was not placed in the soil it was placed in the water the root was not in the soil and then at the end of the film it was placed in the soil actually it's quite easy to understand quite obvious this is when I was in the script it was already written that in order to find that plant it was not that easy to find that was especially found so this this is my own aesthetic choice the leaves as we can see in the film the leaves were originally put in the water by the Canadian girl but when we come to the ending of the film it was finally put in the soil instead of water so I think this connotation is pretty obvious and this is a choice that I've already made in the script writing process so and the next question is um please ask before they graduated there was a explosion in the room its characters in Taiwanese film there were very few sound effects so please ask how did you think of this character and its story in the film so when you die so this question is about days we stare at the sun too so there's a character who's a mainland Chinese student which is very rare in Taiwan in the film work so how did you come up with this character and so is there any interesting anecdotes you can share in the process of filming thank you okay first of all in Taiwan Taiwanese people often have a scientific impression and but actually every voice is different and I have a scientific impression it's very sensitive so it's very intentional to make this character sound different so I think the general public in Taiwan has a kind of misconception or a kind of stereotype that they put on mainland Chinese students but I think actually every Chinese student is different and to me personally I'm very sensitive to these kinds of stereotypes and so I was consciously trying to create a different image from this kind of stereotype and then regarding Huang Qian she has several different voices in Taiwan there are actually several voices like Huang Qian this kind of voice actually exists their idea is even compared to some maybe it even has a more free idea even compared to some Taiwanese students sometimes even more free it's possible so this kind of voice actually in Tai Yang Hua at that time there was a voice like Huang Qian participating in Tai Yang Hua student media this part regarding the character Huang Qian there is actually do exist and we have actually quite some Chinese students which are like her and their mindset is even more liberal than a lot of Taiwan students and we can see those main and Chinese students participating in the sunflower movement as student journalists if you want to ask whether this is a majority or a minority of course it is more than a minority but it still exists and then I think in this kind of situation can change a because this question is actually very sensitive about students even if they may have the same concept but it is still you are Taiwanese or Chinese when this kind of democracy he will still become very sensitive that I think this sensitive problem this kind of this is true and actually in Taiwan is about Chinese or Taiwanese so-called sensitive issues is very common and almost every day I will touch he is very common I think there is no reason there is no any work to mention this thing so for me it is just very natural to describe the young people when I did not want to avoid a problem very complicated I know sorry sorry this is a very very sensitive issue regarding Chinese and Taiwan students in a lot of times even if they have if they both have the same principles and values they can still become sensitive when it comes to national sentiment so this is an ongoing and persistent issue and the question about the cultural identity or national identity of Chinese or Taiwan can be seen and heard basically every every day and for me I think this is an issue that can't be avoided if we want to talk about young people in Taiwan and yeah and I think I have to put this issue in at least one of my work okay sorry I will talk about Huang Qian actually for me she is like a mirror sometimes through such extreme setting you can see what we are doing what we think is right what we are doing what we think is right is true I mean she is like a mirror will cause some very basic problems such as the exercise of the sun is it for an idea okay so I want to talk a bit more about the Chinese students I think for me she is like a mirror that reflects the true the true quality of some issues and I create such a radical character because I think it can reflect reflect reflect a lot of values so for example are we really doing the right thing the sunflower movement is it a purely is it purely a movement that is for a principle or is it something that is more related to the national sentiment thank you very complicated sorry it's okay okay now we have another question a bird whistle at one level this is the film about do over at one level film about filmmaking there are many references to both the process of making films and also to the technology of filmmaking for example the close up shots of sound recording equipment but on the lens and fogging on one edge of the film where it's been accidentally exposed to light so why is this reflexivity important to you as filmmaker Taiwan about the beginning of the year it is actually in this film used a lot of actual reaction filming process and the lens of technology for example the lens of some close up of the recording equipment and also there is blood out of the lens on the lens and also on the edge of fogging that effect should be exposed to light like that effect that is a electronic effect and also you think as a filmmaker this kind of reflexivity reflexivity elements do you think it is important to you thank you at that time indeed for the film this thing I was trying to challenge to watch the film and to shoot the film of this thing indeed to challenge whether the film is true or whether the film is fake what is true what is fake such a question about the film's essence first translation here so at that time I was indeed thinking a lot about the nature and process of filmmaking so I wanted to challenge this nature of filmmaking so is film real and what is presented there real not just filming not just filming this part and watching this part I also wanted to challenge not only the filmmaking process itself but also the process of watching a film I want to challenge that so indeed so that is acting the film is fake or acting to let everyone know this is made such a thing so at that time I was indeed trying to demonstrate that what you see on the screen is fake and film itself is fake and that this is a very man-made product but at that time I hope even if you know it is fake you can still convey what can be conveyed at that time maybe you want to challenge these things so I was hoping to show that even though it is fake there is something real that you can convey through that fakeness but my first film really maybe maybe later I should say that I put my ambition to other places I would not want to challenge these things but this is for people who like to make films a very maybe will do that but in my mind like one of the 8-2 points is a very good point or or a movie called called the next war I do not know it seems to be in English wonderful life then the movie you know I really like a movie this movie the the the the wonderful life is before we filmed before I forced all the staff to watch the movie the the after life not wonderful life after life yes after life 8-2 I did not force everyone to watch but I'm inviting everyone to come and watch me so But Do Over was my very first feature film, and it was a very ambitious attempt. And after that film, my ambition has been placed somewhere else. I think what I did in this film is something that every filmmaker would want to try at least once. I was very much inspired by Fellini, 8 and a half, if I got that correctly. And also the Japanese director Kuleda after life. And naturally, I forced all the crew to watch that film. Thank you. Actually, it's a challenge for the film, but it's also for the love of the film. You said that in the beginning of the year, the challenge for the film was actually because we all really love the film, so we wanted to challenge it once. So what I did in Do Over, as I said, I was trying to challenge the very nature of film itself. But at the same time, it was also my love letter to the medium of cinema. Your translation is so romantic. Very good. You've already finished talking about this question. Okay. Okay. The next question is about Mike. Let me ask him. Was it a conscious choice to have them in the first year of graduation? More directly focused around recent events in Taiwan, rather than issues and characters. So if so, what made you take this approach? He was asking you about the situation of the current situation in season 2. And then, compared to the first episode, it was more personal. Why did you take this approach? Because at that time, I was greatly influenced by a sentence. There was a sentence saying that a good film should reflect time. I was greatly influenced by this sentence. And then, at that time, Taiwan actually faced a very big thing. It was about the future of the solar system. The future of the solar system is something that young people in Taiwan do. It was actually a very important era for Taiwan. But in general, it was very obvious that in the scene of the drama, it was a very direct era. I feel sorry for these young people. I feel sorry for this era. I think we should take some pictures to keep this era in our work. Otherwise, in the next ten years, in the next 20 years, the audience will look back at the previous work. You will not be able to see a single step in our drama. Talking about the solar system. I feel very sorry for this. My motivation for the TV series. I was very much influenced by a good film should reflect the contemporary. At that time, Taiwan was facing a big change. Which is the sunflower movement. It is something that is done by young people. I feel that the time, both before and after the movement, is a key change in the whole Taiwan society. However, in most films and series, this very important event is simply omitted. I think this is a mistake to the young people and the time that we are facing. I think it would be a pity if we don't address this issue in my work. I don't want people to forget about this event. Because they won't be able to find this event in any of the fiction works that we see. So he asked you who will have the third season. I don't know. In the second season, I didn't expect it to happen. But when the time came, he came to me. It wasn't me who went to him. In the third season, maybe in a few more years, he would come to me. At that time, I would probably want to film. My point is that it is often the story that comes to me, not the story that I go to. The story that comes to me is that it will appear in my head. There hasn't been a third season yet. But maybe one day it will suddenly appear. So Max is asking whether there will be a season three for the days we stare at the sun. I think this is simply an uncertainty for me. Because I think earlier I wasn't planning on making a season two of the series. But the story came to find me. It's not that I went and find the story. I think if there is a right time, I might be motivated to make a season three. In fact, the story approached me by simply appearing in my head. So it might happen. I think that's all the questions we have at the moment. Would you like to ask the other questions that you have? Thank you very much. It's a fascinating Q&A session. I have to say, my second question really is the question I always ask all our directors. Because it's reflecting what we are doing here. So if I may, I'll ask the question first in Chinese, then I'll ask English. Okay. Thank you. I want to ask you this time. Because our film series is mainly focused on what happened after the launch of the new film. So as a middle-aged man in Taiwan, not young anymore, as a middle-aged man, as one of the directors, you think your work, because you mentioned a little earlier today, later on, your work was influenced and inspired. What kind of way do you think it was inspired? Or do you think the biggest difference between people in your generation, whether it's in the US, or in the financial sector, or in the technology sector, what kind of difference is there? Okay. Let me ask English first. No, in contrast to the authors in Taiwan's new cinema directors, would you say that you are influenced by them in one way or another? So to you, what is the biggest difference between you and them? Thank you. After the launch of the new film in Taiwan, I think there are at least two stages. After the launch of the new film in Taiwan, the first stage is like me or Lin Shuyu, or Wei Deshen, or Yan Hongya, these are the directors from the Middle Ages. When we started filming the film, it was about 2000 BC. At that time, it was the most popular film in Taiwan. The last film of the new film in Taiwan, it was about 20 films per year in Taiwan. No one was going to watch the film in Taiwan. If the film was sold for NT$1 million, it would be successful. At that time, this was the situation. Shuyu, you need to turn on your audio. Okay, sorry. So after Taiwanese cinema, I think there are at least two phases. So the first generation consists of some filmmakers such as myself, Wei Deshen and Lin Shuyu. It's okay. It's okay. So we first started making films around 2000, which is probably the worst time for Taiwan cinema. There are less than 20 Taiwan films every year, and no one wants to go to a cinema and watch the Taiwan film. And if a film can make over NT$100,000, around NT$1 million, this is already a case for celebration. So under such a time, these young directors didn't have any expectations. We just wanted to make films, and then started making films with NT$16 million. It's like we grew up in the grass. So at that time, no one had any kind of expectation or hope for young filmmakers such as ourselves. And we were like some wild next to a rope, and we pretty much taught ourselves to the art of filmmaking. And we first experimented using this 16mm film. Thank you. But even if it's grass, we still have a pattern in our feet. The pattern is to include new Taiwanese films and absorb most of the European films and American films and Japanese films. So even though we were wild grass, we still have soil underneath our feet. And that soil includes Taiwan's very own new wave cinema, some European and Japanese filmmakers. And most of our inspirations come from those. And in the next generation, it should be the generation after the 7th Haijiao, because after the 7th Haijiao, Taiwanese films can make money. This caused a lot of money to flow into Taiwan and a lot of people started making films to make money. So the type of films, the type of films in Taiwan started to develop gradually after the 7th Haijiao. And they also developed a group of younger directors. When they first started making films, they had to pay for the return of the tickets. They had to make a successful commercial film to make money. So what we just talked about is this generation that I'm in. For the generation after us, which is more or less the post-Cate number 7 generation. So I think they come from... You may want to explain what the Cape number 7 is. It's the first Taiwanese film to be made in Taiwan. It's a Taiwanese film to be made in Taiwan. And it's made a lot of money. It's a film that can't be ignored by the Taiwanese film industry. So Cape number 7 is a film that came up in 2008. And it more or less broke the stalemate that Taiwan cinema was facing at that time. So it is the first film that got more than 100 million box office in Taiwan cinema. And it's definitely something that we have to talk about when we're talking about Taiwan film history. So this new generation of filmmakers emerged after Cape number 7 because this film has actually changed the whole landscape of Taiwan cinema. So because of the money it made and people realize that Taiwan cinema can actually make money. And so a lot of investors come into Taiwan. And genre films also rose after Cape number 7. And there's this new generation of younger filmmakers that emerged after Cape number 7. And they have been given this expectation that they should make a commercial film that can make money. So these young directors may have more impact on the Taiwanese film industry. So they have divided into two types. One is a very similar film with high quality films. Whether it's action films, or horror films, they all make very high quality commercial films. Or they make very, very many Taiwanese films. Taiwanese films with high quality films. Because Cape number 7 is the first film in Taiwan that has such a Taiwanese taste. It can be said that it's a drama or a film that the audience can understand. So later on, there were many similar films that wanted to make Cape number 7. So the two commercial films after Cape number 7 are very similar. They are either very similar or very strong as the Taiwanese film industry, like the comedy film. They are very simple films that can be divided into two types. There are two major trends after Cape number 7. So the first type is type is mostly genre films, and they're generally of quite good quality. And they have a lot of thrillers, action films, and horror films, mostly genre films, but the quality is good. And the second film is a more kind of native and local films that emphasize the kind of Taiwan flavor in film, and they're mostly comedies. And we can say that Cape Number Seven is the first commercial film that caters to the taste of local audience. And then many films after it would want to try to recreate a second Cape Number Seven. So these are the two trends that we see in in current film. So in fact, in the past about 20 years, because I started filming films for 2000 years, and then until now in 2020, in the past 20 years, actually, the Taiwan film is a film that is completely unexpected, and after that, it was very long-awaited commercial expectations, so extreme that two ends were at rock bottom. But my feeling is that this year there has been a very big change. You translate it here first. Thank you. So in the past 20 years, when I first started making films around 2000, so there has been a very huge change in in the Taiwan cinema landscape. So it went from it went from one end to the spectrum to the other end. So before 2000, no one has any expectations for Taiwan film. And but in recent years, Taiwan film became a profitable cultural asset again, and people had a lot of expectations for that. So this is how this is the situation right now, which it went from it went from it went from downhill to up hill. But in the past, from number seven to now, because a lot of money is involved, and then it leads to a lot of more but in the ten films, maybe two will be successful, but others, it may be a very rough situation. So this is how it went until about last year, 2019, began to decrease. The reason is because there is no hard money, there is no money. Then why is there no hard money? It's because the relationship between Taiwan and China is getting worse and worse. After the English translation, the relationship between Taiwan and China is getting worse and worse. And then because the so-called hard money is actually a lot from China. So under such a short-term situation of hard money, there are not so many films to shoot. Then gradually, gradually, Taiwan in these two years I think it's good to go back to a relatively balanced state. There is still a group, there are still some Taiwanese funds will look for films, look for films to shoot Taiwanese films, but these Taiwanese films, they are getting more and more advanced, and then the Taiwanese audience is also getting more and more acceptable. Maybe there is a more controversial Taiwanese film or a more special one, that is, there is a little bit of a scripted Taiwanese film, but not just accept the so-called, what I just said, that is, more typical or more fundamental, such a Taiwanese film. That is, the Taiwanese audience in the past few years has started to change. So the audience has changed, the funds have also changed, so the Taiwanese film has been doing a new change in the past two years. Are you okay with that? Can you hear me? I'll try my best. Okay, I'm sorry. No problem, no problem, no problem. So so there has been a lot of change nonetheless in the in the last two years. So, as I just mentioned, a lot of investment came after the success of Cape Number Seven. But under that situation, the quality of films would be quite uneven. So two, probably maybe two out of 10 films might be sustainable, but other films were of a lower quality. But starting from around 2019, so there were no more hot money because the relation between Taiwan and China has deteriorated. So because there's less hot money and there are also less films to make for the filmmakers. So under this circumstance, a lot of filmmakers still try to make local films. So the films in recent two years became more high quality. And at the same time, the local audience are more receptive to films with a higher social awareness. And also they are more receptive to what or two of them. So in these two years, we see both a change in the taste of the audience and the change in the market. Now, it's happening in Taiwan. In the second half of 2020, a very big thing happened in Taiwan. In fact, in Taiwan's film history, a very big thing that should be recorded is happening in the second half of 2020. This is because of the epidemic. So Hollywood films can't enter Taiwan. Because if Hollywood films are to be printed, they must be printed all over the world. Now, the world's epidemic has not been controlled yet. The situation is that Hollywood films are all going backwards. So there are not so many good Hollywood films in Taiwan's film industry. But Taiwan's film industry still needs films. Because the audience wants to go to the film industry to watch films. At this time, Taiwan films are on the market. In the second half of 2020, many films in Taiwan are very good. Including my own film, The Dear Tenant, the films are all very good. According to me, like The Dear Tenant, this kind of film with so many actors, how could a film with so many actors be so good in the film industry? So this is very hard to imagine in the past. That means that the audience in Taiwan has made a lot of changes. Not only The Dear Tenant, but recently, there is also a film called Wusheng. It is a film about the nature of Taiwan's Longya School. Such a film can't be voted in the past. But it has now been voted for up to $4,000-5,000. And then like the name engraved in your heart, this is a film about the same-sex love. It is about to be broken. And recently, there was a film called Gu Wei. Taiwan's new film is called Gu Wei. It is a first film shot by a young director. And then this is, I think, very, very also a film about the past. It is a really, very important business film of the Taiwan family. But it is not like the past very exaggerated drama. It is a very realistic film of the Taiwan family. Then it is a business film. Then the ticket office is also very, very good. It may also be broken. In the past, such a film is very hard to break. But this year, part of the relationship because of the epidemic, the other part because the director, the creators and the audience both grew up a lot. So these films can can have very good results. At least there are very good results on the ticket office. Yes. Okay, I know a lot. But you, you, you probably can absorb my probably that means. That is to say, now in 2020 in the second half of the year in Taiwan, a very big thing is happening. This is different from the past. I understand. I will try. But I have to be careful. I will try. This is bad. So in fact, a very huge change is currently taking place in Taiwan. Actually, the latter half of 2020. So I think this is the this is a big change that will probably go down in the in the film history of Taiwan. So so this this event is is the COVID-19. So because of the pandemic, the Hollywood films were being held off and they couldn't come in. And and yeah, a lot of the the releases of Hollywood films were being postponed. And so there were less Hollywood films in cinema, but still the audience in cinema demand films. So this is why Taiwan films have have flourished. So and in commercially. So a lot of films have done very, very well in box office, including my own film, The Attendant. So in recent years, this is a situation that that is very hard to imagine because this is more like an or two films. So so this also shows that the audiences have changed a lot in their taste. So in in recent months, a lot of films such as such as Wusheng, The Silent Forest, which is a film about about sexual assault in in a disability centre and and also little big women, which is which is a commercial film, but more like a realist film about about family issues. So all of these films have done very well in in box office. So I think there are two reasons to this to this phenomenon. So the first one is of course COVID-19 and the second one is that I think both filmmakers and audiences of Taiwan have matured a lot. So I think this is why Taiwan film Taiwan cinema is is is in a very good thing now. Yeah, good. Hello. Yeah, we don't know what it will look like next year, but at least now what we see now is a very very huge change. So in terms of data, Taiwan has like this year this month, this month a thing happened, that is, once a week in Taiwan's cinema, the first five people in the票 room, that is, the first five people in the票 room had four films, they were all from Taiwan cinema. This has been something that has not been there for 20 or 30 years. Usually, yeah, usually the first five people in the票 room are usually, most of them are from the Hollywood cinema, maybe only one or two films are from Taiwan cinema. But last month this thing happened, that is, Qiang Wuming has four films from Taiwan cinema. I can't tell how the situation will be next year, but I can tell you from the facts and figures that we have. So I think there's a week, there is one week in this month where four out of the five highest-grossing films in Taiwan cinema are from Taiwan cinema. So this is a situation that's previously unheard, because usually the highest-grossing films are always from the Hollywood cinema, and perhaps maybe one or two Taiwan films will become successful, but now the situation is very, very different. We don't know about this situation. Is it only temporary or is it going to make a big change? But at least in 2020, now it's a very special phenomenon. So I don't know if this is the temporary phenomenon or it will be a more permanent situation, but I think at least in 2020 it is a very unique phenomenon that that would go down in history. Thank you. OK. Right. Well, on the promising note, I think it's solid two hours of talking. It's fantastic. I think we can see the clock at the back of the director Zheng's room. It's almost 12. So it's midnight. On that note, I think we should wrap up today's session. But thank you, Youjie, for giving us so much insight into your filmmaking career and sharing so many your way of seeing and also creating processes, this amazing experience to have so rare as well. We really look forward to screening your new films, I'm sure, in not too distant future. And I wonder whether we can invite you back, next time. Is that OK? Of course. Is that a promise? It's my honor. It's my honor. Oh, fantastic. OK. So what I will do now, this is what I'll do is I have just unmuted everyone so everyone can switch on their microphone and can I ask you can I ask you to put your hands together and thanks, Youjie. Thank you very much and put your hands together. Yeah. Brilliant. Thank you so much.