Taiwan Takes Historic Spotlight at Lyon Classic Market With Restored Osmanthus Alley
Taiwan has taken centre stage at Lyon's International Classic Film Market (MIFC), the industry side of the Lumière Festival, with a dedicated Taiwan in Focus programme, according to Variety.
It is the first such focus for a non-European country, according to the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (TFAI). The programme runs alongside this year's guest country, Greece.
The centrepiece is a new 4K restoration of Chen Kun-hou's "Osmanthus Alley," a 1987 drama adapted from Hsiao Li-hung's novel. 4K here means a scan sharp enough to show detail from the original film stock. The restoration had its world premiere at the festival on Oct. 12, with Chen and star Lu Hsiao-fen in attendance.
Lu won best actress at the 1987 Asia Pacific Film Festival for the role. The film's theme song, with lyrics by Wu Nien-jen, won the Golden Horse for best original film song. The Golden Horse Awards are Taiwan's leading film honours.
What makes this stand out is language. Chen insisted on shooting in Taiwanese, but the state-run Central Motion Picture Corporation released the film in Mandarin to match government policy at the time. A Taiwanese version was later made after Chen persuaded the studio. It played in only a limited number of theatres.
The new restoration brings back that original Taiwanese soundtrack. TFAI rebuilt the picture from the original 35mm negative, filling missing frames from an interpositive, a second-generation copy made for preservation. Sound came from the 35mm Taiwanese sound negative.
Tu Duu-chih, who handled the original sound mix, returned to help restore the track from six primary audio reels. The voices heard are not always the actors seen on screen. Lin Hsiu-ling voiced Lu Hsiao-fen's dialogue, and director Hou Hsiao-hsien provided the voice for Tuo Tsung-hua. Simon Yam and Tuo appear in guest roles.
The project was carried out by TFAI under Chen's supervision, according to the Festival Lumière. TFAI is also listed as the rights holder.
For fans, this means a chance to hear the film as first intended. For buyers, TFAI is using the Lyon showcase to seek international distribution and programming partners for Taiwan's restored classics.
The stakes are preservation. TFAI traces 70 years of Taiwanese-language cinema to 1956's "Xue Pinggui yu Wang Baochuan." An estimated 1,200 Taiwanese-language films were made between the 1960s and 1981. Only about 200 survive in TFAI's collection.
TFAI now holds about 20,000 film titles. It restores 10 to 12 films a year and has completed more than 100 since 2013.
Chen's own career spans both sides of the camera. He won a Golden Horse for cinematography for "He Never Gives Up" (1978), then best director for "Growing Up" in 1983. He received a lifetime achievement award at the 2023 Golden Horse Awards.
