Anthony Kao of Cinema Escapist Often First to Cover Taiwanese Films Ep 116

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Anthony Kao is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Cinema Escapist, which is often the first or only publication that covers Taiwanese film or television shows. I’ve found it has some really great reviews and recommendations of films from and about Taiwan. Cinema Escapist also covers films from all around the world and takes a look at their social and political context.  

Anthony spoke with me about how he started Cinema Escapist and their unique approach to discussing film. Next week we’ll have Anthony back to recommend films about Taiwan that represent different decades or historical events significant to Taiwan.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

• Where Anthony’s interest in film comes from
• Film as a way to explore the world
• Cinema Escapist’s focus on international films and the social and political context of films
• Anthony’s interest in Taiwanese film and television
• How Cinema Escapist is often the first or only publication that covers Taiwanese film or television shows
• Publications about Taiwan recommended by Anthony
• Anthony’s approach to writing about film
• When and why Anthony started Cinema Escapist
• How Cinema Escapist has changed over time
• What’s behind the name “Cinema Escapist”
• The challenges of running Cinema Escapist which has a completely volunteer staff
• The interesting experiences and people that Anthony has met through Cinema Escapist
• Cinema Escapist’s plans to go into podcasting

Related Links:

Cinema Escapist: https://www.cinemaescapist.com/

Cinema Escapist on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cinemaescapist

Cinema Escapist on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cinemaescapist

Goodbye Lenin (film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0301357/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Bye,_Lenin!

Yi Yi (film): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yi_Yi

New Bloom Magazine: https://newbloommag.net/

CommonWealth Magazine: https://english.cw.com.tw/

The News Lens: https://international.thenewslens.com/

Talking Taiwan Episode 91 about the Austin Asian American Film Festival: Prismatic Taiwan: https://staging.talkingtaiwan.com/austin-film-festival-prismatic-taiwan-a-series-celebrating-queer-taiwanese-cinema-ep-91/

Film Director Jean Luc Godard: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Luc_Godard

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000419/

Cinema Escapist articles on The News Lens: https://international.thenewslens.com/author/Cinema%2520Escapist

The Great Buddha+ (film): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Buddha%2B

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7010412/

The 10 Best Taiwanese Movies of 2019: https://www.cinemaescapist.com/2019/12/best-taiwanese-movies-2019/