The Sound of New Taiwan Cinema

Dr. Andy Birtwistle

As part of the 2020 SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies Summer School, we kindly ask that you register to attend .

This event will be held online through Blackboard Collaborate.

*Please be aware that all Summer School event times follow British Summer Time (BST)

Abstract

Although a significant amount of scholarship has been published on Taiwan New Cinema, and the work of directors associated with Taiwan’s Second New Wave, little attention has been given to the way in which sound has been used by the filmmakers associated with these important movements in Taiwan cinema.

The aim of this lecture is to consider the use of sound in Taiwan cinema by focusing on the work of filmmakers active in Taiwan New Cinema and the Second New Wave. The lecture examines the aesthetic choices made by film directors who contributed to these particular film movements, focusing on the way in which the soundtracks of their films might be understood to articulate and comment upon Taiwan’s experience of modernity. Critically examining the way sound has been used in these films has the potential to reframe the way Taiwan New Cinema and the Second New Wave have been historicised, as well as offering new perspectives on the work of individual directors.

Biography

Andy Birtwistle is Reader in Film and Sound at Canterbury Christ Church University, and author of Cinesonica: Sounding Film and Video(Manchester University Press, 2010). Specialising in research on film sound, Andy writes on Taiwan cinema, artists' film and video, and sonic arts. He is also a sound artist and filmmaker whose work has been screened, exhibited and broadcast internationally.

Organiser: SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies

Contact email: ml156@soas.ac.uk