Director Tsai Yin-chuan Mortgages Home for NT$10M to Film 'Paradise Lost,' Hopes to Change Society
Taiwanese director Tsai Yin-chuan mortgaged her property to raise NT$10 million for field research for her new film "Paradise Lost," which portrays the struggles of children's homes and social workers. Inspired by news of bullying in these homes, Tsai, a social work graduate, hopes the film can foster social communication and understanding. Despite the heavy subject matter, she cited the South Korean film "Silenced" as an example, hoping "Paradise Lost" can garner enough attention to have a positive impact on society. The film will be released across Taiwan on the 29th.
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(CNA, Taipei, May 20, by reporter Wang Hsin-yu) Tsai Yin-chuan, director of "Tears on Fire," has a new film, "Paradise Lost," which depicts the hardships faced by children's homes and social workers. She mortgaged her property to raise NT$10 million for field research and took her actors to observe in children's homes. Although the subject is heavy, she hopes audiences will buy tickets and that the film might even influence society.
In an exclusive interview with CNA, Tsai said she was inspired to create "Paradise Lost" after seeing news about widespread bullying in a children's home. To authentically portray the real struggles of the children and social workers, she didn't hesitate to mortgage her property to fund the NT$10 million field research. "This story holds a special meaning for me and has been on my mind ever since," she said.
A graduate of social work, Tsai always switches perspectives when writing her scripts, first starting from a child's point of view before writing about the difficulties of social workers. "This is an interconnected issue. If we want to take good care of the children, social workers and the government are key."
Tsai incorporated as much as she could from her extensive field research into the film. Beyond just showing the difficulties, she aimed to present a more realistic picture. She gave an example from her research where a children's home, often receiving large donations of white rice, tried to explain to donors that the children also needed other nutrients like meat, vegetables, and fruit. However, the message might not have been conveyed properly, leading donors to feel the home was being too demanding. This film hopes to present more context to bridge communication gaps caused by a lack of understanding.
Because of the heavy narrative, the actors were constantly on edge. Despite a limited budget, Tsai insisted on having counselors available to talk with the cast and crew throughout the filming process and up to the film's upcoming release—a lesson learned from "Tears on Fire."
Tsai admitted that audiences can sometimes get too invested. For instance, a shop portrayed as unfriendly to firefighters in "Tears on Fire" faced a public boycott, forcing the crew to issue a statement clarifying it was just for dramatic effect. This time, as the film touches on bullying, she is even more worried that the actors playing the bullies might face public backlash.
Tsai does not shy away from the fact that "Paradise Lost" deals with a very heavy topic and that she is concerned about the box office. However, she points to films like "Abang Adik" and "A Foggy Tale" as examples. "I hope that although this film is heavy, it's also a film that will make everyone cry. But the South Korean film 'Silenced' was a huge hit back then, and the discussion it generated was so strong that laws were changed. It proves that a film focusing on social issues, if it receives enough attention, can have a positive impact on society."
"Paradise Lost" will be released in theaters across Taiwan on the 29th. (Editor: Wu Su-jou)
In an exclusive interview with CNA, Tsai said she was inspired to create "Paradise Lost" after seeing news about widespread bullying in a children's home. To authentically portray the real struggles of the children and social workers, she didn't hesitate to mortgage her property to fund the NT$10 million field research. "This story holds a special meaning for me and has been on my mind ever since," she said.
A graduate of social work, Tsai always switches perspectives when writing her scripts, first starting from a child's point of view before writing about the difficulties of social workers. "This is an interconnected issue. If we want to take good care of the children, social workers and the government are key."
Tsai incorporated as much as she could from her extensive field research into the film. Beyond just showing the difficulties, she aimed to present a more realistic picture. She gave an example from her research where a children's home, often receiving large donations of white rice, tried to explain to donors that the children also needed other nutrients like meat, vegetables, and fruit. However, the message might not have been conveyed properly, leading donors to feel the home was being too demanding. This film hopes to present more context to bridge communication gaps caused by a lack of understanding.
Because of the heavy narrative, the actors were constantly on edge. Despite a limited budget, Tsai insisted on having counselors available to talk with the cast and crew throughout the filming process and up to the film's upcoming release—a lesson learned from "Tears on Fire."
Tsai admitted that audiences can sometimes get too invested. For instance, a shop portrayed as unfriendly to firefighters in "Tears on Fire" faced a public boycott, forcing the crew to issue a statement clarifying it was just for dramatic effect. This time, as the film touches on bullying, she is even more worried that the actors playing the bullies might face public backlash.
Tsai does not shy away from the fact that "Paradise Lost" deals with a very heavy topic and that she is concerned about the box office. However, she points to films like "Abang Adik" and "A Foggy Tale" as examples. "I hope that although this film is heavy, it's also a film that will make everyone cry. But the South Korean film 'Silenced' was a huge hit back then, and the discussion it generated was so strong that laws were changed. It proves that a film focusing on social issues, if it receives enough attention, can have a positive impact on society."
"Paradise Lost" will be released in theaters across Taiwan on the 29th. (Editor: Wu Su-jou)