Taiwan's tensions with China come to the Oscars this year

Record ID: 1765892

  • Title: Taiwan's tensions with China come to the Oscars this year
  • Date: 12th February 2024
  • Summary: TAIPEI, TAIWAN (RECENT - FEBRUARY 6, 2024) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DIRECTOR OF OSCAR-NOMINATED DOCUMENTARY "ISLAND IN BETWEEN", S. LEO CHIANG, SEATED AND TALKING DOCUMENTARY PLAYING ON TELEVISION (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR OF OSCAR-NOMINATED DOCUMENTARY "ISLAND IN BETWEEN", S. LEO CHIANG, SAYING: “I've been thinking about, you know, wanting to tell a Taiwanese story for t
  • Embargoed: 26th February 2024 01:00
  • Keywords: China Island in Between Oscars S. Leo Chiang Taiwan awards documentary
  • Location: TAIPEI, TAIWAN / UNKNOWN FILMING LOCATIONS
  • City: TAIPEI, TAIWAN / UNKNOWN FILMING LOCATIONS
  • Country: Taiwan
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Arts/Culture/Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA001879908022024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A film about frontline Taiwanese islands repeatedly fought over with China during the height of the Cold War is vying for an Oscar this year, with the director hoping the attention will help better explain tensions over Taiwan to a broader audience.
    Taiwanese-American director S. Leo Chiang's 19-minute-long "Island in Between", available to watch on YouTube, tells the story of Kinmen, a small island group which hugs the Chinese coast. Kinmen has been controlled by Taiwan since the Chinese civil war ended in 1949 and was the site of pitched battles in the 1950s as Beijing launched waves of attacks.
    China says democratically-governed Taiwan is part of its territory, despite the objections of the government in Taipei.
    Old bunkers and buildings riddled with bullet holes stand testament to Kinmen's battle-scarred past, and the film opens with an abandoned tank half submerged under the sand on a beach, its gun pointing out to sea. Martial law only ended on the island in 1992, five years later than Taiwan.
    "Island in Between" is nominated for best documentary short film. The Academy Awards ceremony will be held on March 10.
    As for his next project, Chiang said he was considering making a film about the late, staunchly anti-Communist Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng, whose songs were broadcast at China from giant loud speakers on Kinmen and remain wildly popular throughout the Chinese-speaking world.
    (Production: Fabian Hamacher)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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