Singing Chen

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Singing Chen (born in 1974) is a Taiwanese film director, documentary filmmaker, and music composer. She graduated from Advertising in the Department of Mass Communication at Fu Jen Catholic University in 1997. [1] Her works primarily focus on topics related to humanities and arts and culture, [2] and she uses a magical realism approach to establish her visual style. [3] She has received numerous international and domestic awards nominations for her work.

Contents

Career

Chen joined Huang Ming-chuan's workshop as an intern in her university time. After procuring short film production subsidy from the Taiwanese government, Chen start her life as a director. [4] Her first 16mm feature film, Bundled, released in 2000, was the winner of Best Drama and Most Promising Director of the Year at Taipei Film Festival, [5] and was nominated for Best New Performer and Best Original Film Song at Golden Horse Award in 2000. [6] In this film, Chen worked as the director, script writer and helped with the film score. The film depicts the lives and psychological states of a group of homeless people. Although their reasons for becoming homeless are different, they all resist the norms of family and society and insist on living on the margins of life. The film won the Best Film award at the Taipei Film Festival in 2000. [7]

In the same year, Chen made Who is Fishing (2000), a documentary that uses a newsreel style with animation and documentary footage to explore various aspects of the Diaoyu Islands dispute.

In 2007, Chen’s feature film  God, Man, Dog was selected in The Forum at the Berlin International Film Festival and was invited to more than 30 film festivals, including Busan International Film Festival. The film explores the relationships between class, religion, and people in a consumer society through three different characters and their life stories. The film was selected in The Forum at the Berlin International Film Festival and won the Tagesspiegel Readers’ Jury Award. [7]

In addition to feature films, documentaries, and short films, Chen has also ventured into the VR field. In 2018, she was invited by the Kaohsiung Film Festival VR Film Lab to present her first VR experimental work, Afterimage of Tomorrow. She co-created with choreographer Chou Shu-yi and featured 11 dancers, who used body language to express sensory memories of life that are difficult to describe in words. The 18-minute experimental work explores how VR technology creates overlaps between vision and perception and expresses emotions towards things that are fading away. [8] [9]

In 2021, Chen co-wrote the script of Goddamned ASURA (2021), directed by Lou Yi-An, who was Chen's university classmate. The film was nominated three awards in Golden Horse Award and won the Best Screenplay in Taipei Film Festival. [10] [11] Then, Chen served as the editor, director, producer, and editor for the drama series Heaven on the Fourth Floor. The series received widespread acclaim in Taiwan and was praised for its healing and slow-paced style. [12] At the 57th Golden Bell Awards in 2022, it was nominated for five awards in the drama category, including Best Writing, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Program Editing. [13] The female leading actor Hsieh Ying-xuan won Best Actress. [14]

In September 2022, Chen released her second VR short film, The Man Who Couldn’t Leave, which won the Best Experience award in the Venice Immersive Competition section at the 79th Venice Film Festival, which is the highest honor in that section. [15] The film was supported by National Human Rights Museum, integrating the firsthand experiences of many victims of the White Terror era in Taiwan and uses an undelivered letter as its theme to recreate the elegy of the era under authoritarian rule. [9]

As of 2023, Chen is preparing for her fantasy feature, Shu Jen (樹人; Tree Man), which explores ecological and environmental issues. The script has been nominated for the Excellent Screenplay Award at the 40th Golden Harvest Awards. [16]

Filmography

Feature Film
YearChinese TitleEnglish TitleNoteRef.
1995微醺No official English tile, literal meaning: ‘slightly drunk’ [17]
阿春No official English tile, literal meaning: ‘A-chun’
2000我叫阿銘啦 Bundled
2001空中花園A Garden in the Sky
2003終身大事Great Thing in One’s Life
2008流浪神狗人God Man Dog
2021該死的阿修羅Goddamned ASURAco-wrote the script with Lou Yi-an
Documentary
YearChinese TitleEnglish TitleNoteRef.
1997李伯大夢No official English tile, literal meaning: ‘uncle Lee’s dream’ [18]
2000誰來釣魚？Who is Fishing?
2008穴居人No official English tile, literal meaning: ‘Men who live in caves’
2009如果耳朵有開關Ears Switched off and on
2014行者The Walkers
2016山靈Mountain Spirits
2018大帳篷-想像力的避難所The Moving Tent
恍惚與凝視的練習In Trance We Gaze
Short Film
YearChinese TitleEnglish TitleNote
2007水岸麗景Waterfront Villa Bonita [17]
2012昨日的記憶：阿霞的掛鐘When Yesterday Comes: The Clock
2013台北工廠I：豬Taipei Factory I: The Pig
2015好好吃飯A Real Meal [17]
來得及說再見Ways into Love
VR Film
YearChinese TitleEnglish TitleNoteRef.
2018留給未來的殘影Afterimage of Tomorrow [15]
2022無法離開的人The Man Who Couldn’t Leave
TV series
YearChinese TitleEnglish TitleNote
2021四樓的天堂Heaven on the 4th Floor

Awards and honors

YearAwardCategoryWorkOutcomeRef.
2000Taipei Film FestivalBest DramaBundledWon [5]
Most Promising Director of the YearWon
2007Golden Horse AwardsBest Original ScreenplayGod Man DogNominated [19]
Best Film EditingNominated
2012Kaohsiung Film FestivalBest Selection for International Short Film CompetitionThe ClockWon [20]
2013Kaohsiung Film FestivalBest Selection for International Short Film CompetitionThe PigWon [21]
2014Taiwan International Documentary FestivalAudience AwardThe WalkersWon [22]
Golden Horse AwardsBest DocumentaryNominated
2021Golden Horse AwardsBest Original ScreenplayGoddamned ASURAWon [11]
2022Taipei Film FestivalBest ScreenplayWon [23]
Best MusicWon
Golden Bell AwardsBest Editing for a Drama SeriesHeaven on the 4th FloorNominated [13]
Best Writing for a Television SeriesNominated
Venice Film FestivalBest Experience for Venice Immersive CompetitionThe Man Who Couldn’t LeaveWon [15]
2023NewImages FestivalSpecial Cinematographic DistinctionWon [24]

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References

  1. ↑ "流離島影Floating Islands". film.ncu.edu.tw. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  2. ↑ 白, 敏澤 (2014-09-01). "鄉土的「路徑」與民俗聯繫－論《流浪神狗人》與《一席之地》呈現的價值觀". 文化研究雙月報. 143: 16.
  3. ↑ "片單介紹－尋找乳房". 台灣國際女性影展.
  4. ↑ 董, 育麟 (2008-03-28). "流浪神狗人─陳芯宜眼中的社會萬花筒".
  5. 1 2 "台北電影節 Taipei Film Festival". www.taipeiff.taipei. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  6. ↑ "台北金馬影展 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival". www.goldenhorse.org.tw (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  7. 1 2 毛, 雅芬 (2008-03-20). "尋獲心的自由 《流浪神狗人》導演陳芯宜專訪". 放映週報 (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  8. ↑ 毛, 雅芬 (2019-12-30). "提煉初始的情感──專訪《留給未來的殘影》導演陳芯宜". 放映週報.
  9. 1 2 "話題》VR360敘事比起電影，更有劇場的偏向？白恐歷史展演的新可能：訪《無法離開的人》導演陳芯宜、技術總監全明遠、美術指導涂碩峯". Openbook閱讀誌 (in Traditional Chinese). 2022-10-20. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  10. ↑ "台北電影節 Taipei Film Festival". www.taipeiff.taipei. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  11. 1 2 "台北金馬影展 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival". www.goldenhorse.org.tw (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  12. ↑ VERSE. "台灣影視創作最獨特的拍檔：陳芯宜與樓一安最想說的故事是什麼？ - VERSE". www.verse.com.tw (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  13. 1 2 廖, 婉淳; 謝, 政霖 (2022-09-07). "涉己新聞／第57屆金鐘獎入圍揭曉 公廣集團共囊括116項 ｜ 公視新聞網 PNN". 公視新聞網 PNN (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  14. ↑ 朱, 鳳治; 鍾, 建剛 (2022-10-23). "金鐘57／陳亞蘭奪男主角獎創紀錄 謝盈萱《四樓的天堂》封后 ｜ 公視新聞網 PNN". 公視新聞網 PNN (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  15. 1 2 3 黃, 漢斯 (2022-09-14). "第 79 屆威尼斯影展：台灣 VR《無法離開的人》奪大獎！串流表現冷清，伊朗、烏克蘭影人獲關注". 換日線Crossing.
  16. ↑ 優良電影劇本獎. "優良電影劇本 | 入選作品". 優良電影劇本獎 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  17. 1 2 3 "陳芯宜". 台灣電影網. 2022-08-12.
  18. ↑ "陳芯宜". TaiwanDocs台灣紀錄片資料庫 (in Traditional Chinese). 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  19. ↑ "流浪神狗人". 台灣電影網.
  20. ↑ "高雄電影節國際短片競賽 愛爾蘭《變狐記》拿下高雄獎". 高雄市政府文化局.
  21. ↑ "【高雄電影節】國際短片競賽圓滿落幕 土耳其《探監時刻》人權至上 拿下高雄獎". 高雄市政府文化局.
  22. ↑ "影展資料下載（2014）". 台灣國際紀錄片影展 (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  23. ↑ "風光入圍台北電影獎9項 《該死的阿修羅》提醒大家還在熱映中". 鏡週刊 Mirror Media (in Traditional Chinese). 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
  24. ↑ "《無法離開的人》奪法國新影像藝術節「攝影特別提及獎」！ 文策院與法推出駐村計畫 臺沉浸式內容業者赴法提案交流 - TAICCA 文化內容策進院". taicca.tw (in Chinese). Retrieved 2023-06-06.
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