Radiance Films picks up eight Taiwanese classics for 2027 return
Eight Taiwanese classics are coming back to cinemas and living rooms in Britain next year.
Radiance Films has acquired eight titles from the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (TFAI), the archive that looks after the island's film heritage, with cinema runs and home-entertainment editions planned for 2027, as reported by Variety on 16 October 2026.
The deal was unveiled at the International Classic Film Market (MIFC) in Lyon, according to Variety. The market, where distributors and archives buy and sell older films, ran from 13 to 16 October, as reported by Variety. This year's edition also included a Taiwan in Focus programme on Taiwanese cinema, while Greece was guest of honour, according to the Lumière Festival.
Two early features by Hou Hsiao-hsien lead the slate. A Time to Live and a Time to Die (1985) follows a family that moves from mainland China to Taiwan. Dust in the Wind (1986) tracks a young couple who leave their mining village for work in Taipei.
Three films by Tsai Ming-liang are also in the package. Rebels of the Neon God (1992) was his first feature. Vive L'Amour (1994) won the Golden Lion at Venice, and The River (1997) completed his early run, as noted by Screen Daily. Vive L'Amour has since been given a new 4K restoration, a frame-by-frame repair of picture and sound, Screen Daily reported.
The deal also includes In Our Time (1982), an anthology film made of four short stories by different directors that helped launch the Taiwanese New Cinema movement. The other two titles are Chang Yi's Kuei-Mei, a Woman (1985), about a woman's life over several decades, and Yang Li-kuo's The Dull-Ice Flower (1989), a school drama.
Seven of the eight films were acquired for the U.K. only. The Dull-Ice Flower is the exception, with rights for both the U.K. and the U.S., Variety reported.
Radiance plans to release the films individually and in box sets. That includes a Taiwanese New Wave collection and a three-film set of the Tsai titles, according to Variety.
For fans, this means a rare chance to see the films as they were meant to be seen. Big screen first. Collector editions to keep.
