Premiere draws 'epic' audience

The local premiere of widely anticipated Taiwanese epic film “Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale,” served as a major cultural event, drawing President Ma Ying-jeou and his main presidential election opponent Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen at the Presidential Office plaza on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei last night.

The two candidates did not, however, cross paths. Ma and Tsai entered through separate doors and were not photographed together at any point during the night.
This is the first time the Presidential Office plaza has been used for a film premier. Notable attendees included Central Motion Picture Corp. CEO Guo Tai-chiang and John Woo, a famed movie director and the producer of “Seediq Bale.”
Woo described the film as “the pride of Taiwan's movie industry.”
Just before the special screening of the film, Woo said the world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 1 was very successful and had drawn positive responses from critics, viewers, and the media. “Seediq Bale” director Wei Te-sheng flew in from Venice yesterday afternoon in time for the once-in-a-lifetime event of his own film premiering near the presidential office, something he likened to a best friend's wedding or graduation.
The director added that it was important to view the film with the same spirit, that the audience can put down their critiquing armor and preconceived notions to enjoy the movie the same way they would a good friend's wedding. Wei also noted the landmark significance of Ketagalan Boulevard to the indigenous people and what an honor it was to premiere a film about their experience there.
Woo said some critics noted that it had been a long time since the Taiwanese movie industry released a big-budget epic and that “Seediq Bale” was the pride of the country's film industry.
The movie brings a huge surprise to viewers and is different from all other Chinese-language films, said Woo, a Hong Kong-based director behind Hollywood successes such as “Face/Off” and “Mission: Impossible II” who was awarded a Golden Lion at the 2010 Venice film festival for lifetime achievement.
Woo said the film's depiction of indigenous people in Taiwan in the past was genuine and moving. The bloody scenes in the movie are not likely to scare away audiences, he said upon his arrival at Taiwan's Taoyuan International Airport for the local screening of the film.
The full version will premiere on the big screen at Kaohsiung Arena in southern Taiwan on Sept. 12, the date of the Mid-Autumn Festival this year. The organizers are hoping to attract a record 10,000 people at that premiere.
Sunday's screening in Taipei was attended by Woo, director Wei, lead stars Ma Chih-hsiang and Vivian Hsu and supporting actresses Landy Wen and Lo Mei-ling.
The film is based on the Wushe Incident — an uprising in Taiwan that was led by aboriginal Seediq hero Mona Rudao against Japanese occupation forces in the 1930s. It took Wei more than 10 years to prepare for the production and cost NT$700 million (US$24 million) to complete the movie.
“Seediq Bale” is among the 22 films that have been nominated for the Golden Lion award at the 2011 Venice Film Festival — one of the world's most prestigious film competitions.
After the screening in Venice, another of the movie's producers, Jimmy Huang revealed that American distributors had raised their offer to buy the rights to the film.