Film: March of Happiness《天馬茶房》

About the Film

Directed by Lin Cheng-sheng, March of Happiness is set in the months between the end of Japanese rule and the outbreak of the 228 Incident, centred on the Tien-Ma Tea House, a well-known cultural gathering place in Taipei’s Dadaocheng. Through the love story of A-jin, a young man returned from studying in Japan, and Nuan-yu, an actress in a theatre troupe, and through the artists, writers and ordinary people who gather at the tea house, it portrays a population’s hope and unease as one regime gives way to another.

The film binds personal fate tightly to a turning point in Taiwan’s history, setting love, culture and ideals against the current of the times as the 228 Incident erupts. A significant work of Taiwan New Cinema, it is also a way of looking back at modern Taiwanese history through the lives of its characters. It was selected for Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 1999 and won Best Original Film Song at the Golden Horse Awards, among other honours.

Programme

• 14:00–14:10 Opening remarks from the organizers
• 14:10–16:00 Screening of March of Happiness