Hiatus (暫別人生), a feature film project written and to be directed by student Szu-Wei Chen, was selected to participate in the Taipei Film Academy’s Filmmaker’s Workshop that was held virtually from September 27 to October 2. Chen’s script took part in the workshop’s Project Division alongside 21 other projects. Chen worked with lead mentor Raymond Phathanavirangoon and other industry professionals while the Taipei Film Commission helped promote the selected projects and assisted with matchmaking opportunities.
The mentors of Filmmakers Workshop 2020 will jointly select one participant from the Project Division to be recommended by the Taipei Film Commission to the Rotterdam Lab at IFFR 2021. They have yet to make their decision which project will receive the recommendation.
“This is the first step for me to start producing my first feature film,” Chen said in a comment. “During this process, I've learned how to write a good proposal, how to improve in pitching my story, and what my next steps will be to look for the opportunity of making this film. This workshop gave me more confidence and made me believe in myself.”
Szu-Wei Chen is a filmmaker originating from Taiwan, now based in New York City as he pursues his MFA in film from Columbia University. Having grown up with an interest in directors such as Edward Yang and Lou Ye, Chen is currently exploring a means to bridge the film language he grew up on with his experiences as an international student living in the US.
