Taiwan Books Archives | Talking Taiwan Podcast

How Eva Lou Runs a Multi-Lingual Children’s Book Publishing Company Ep 131

Felicia Lin — Mon, 24 May 2021 22:04:30 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

My guest on this episode is Eva Lou a writer and publisher and the founder of Madeleine Editions, a multi-lingual children’s book publishing company, that offers books in English, French and Mandarin Chinese. Madeleine Editions published Monster Dance, a children’s book created to help children deal with and understand the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. For every copy of Monster Dance sold, a donation will be made to Donate PPE.

Eva spoke with me about the uniqueness of what Madeleine Editions is doing with their digital books, which are a multisensory experience, that combines animation, and the beauty of the spoken word and music. She shared a particularly memorable story that involved the recording of music for the book, The Little Baby Airplane.

We also spoke about her personal writing projects and her perspectives on what It takes to be a writer.

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

How Madeleine Editions got involved in publishing the children’s book, Monster Dance
What it took to get Monster Dance published so quickly and in a timely fashion
What inspired Eva to start Madeleine Editions
How Madeleine Editions publishes multi-lingual books in three languages: Chinese, English and French
The Taste of a Strawberry, the first book that led to the creation of Madeleine Editions’
How Madeleine Editions’ books combine animation, the spoken word and music
How Madeleine Editions collaborated with Deutsche Grammophon:
How 3-7 years of age is a critical time for children to be exposed languages
How Taiwanese supermodel Chiling Lin (林志玲) got involved as the Chinese narrator for Monster Dance
How Eva’s personal background set her on the path to run a multi-lingual publishing house
How Eva relates differently she when speaks English, Mandarin Chinese and French
Eva’s connection to Taiwan
The many different languages spoken in Eva’s household
The joys and challenges of running Madeleine Editions
What it was like working with illustrator Guy Gilchrist
One of the highlights of her work with Madeleine Editions involved the recording of music for the book, The Little Baby Airplane
The uniqueness of what Madeline Editions does as a multilingual children’s book publisher
How Madeleine Editions’ books can expose children to other nonnative languages
The musicality of language
Eva’s career as a writer
The novel that Eva has been working on that is related to Taiwan
Madeleine Editions’ plans to adapt The Little Prince for children 3-7 years of age
The series of essays that Eva is working on about homes vs. houses
Eva’s writing routine
The difference between a career in publishing vs. being a writer
Eva’s perspective on being a writer and what it takes to be a writer

Dr. Karen Tsai Brings Monster Dance Children’s Book To Life Ep 120

Felicia Lin — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 21:48:43 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Learn about the Taiwan connections (namely a physician, publisher and supermodel) that made the Monster Dance children’s book story come to life. Monster Dance was created to help children deal with and understand the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Karen Tsai is a physician based in Los Angeles who has spearheaded the creation of the children’s book, and she spoke with me about how she got some heavy hitters involved in the project like cartoonist and illustrator Guy Gilchrist (best known for his work with the Muppets), Eva Lou (founder of the multi-lingual children’s book publishing company Madeleine Editions, which published Monster Dance), actor Denis O’Hare (who did the English narration for the book) and Taiwanese supermodel Chiling Lin (林志玲) who did the Mandarin Chinese narration. For every copy of Monster Dance sold, a donation will be made to Donate PPE.

Dr. Tsai is a co-founder of Donate PPE a nonprofit that has already raised over $150,000. In part two of my interview with her we will talk about her work with Donate PPE.

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

Dr. Tsai’s connection to Taiwan
What motivated Dr. Tsai to initiate the creation of children’s book, Monster Dance to help children to deal with COVID
How Dr. Tsai got Guy Gilchrist (cartoonist and illustrator), Eva Lou (founder of the multi-lingual children’s book publishing company Madeleine Editions), actor Denis O’Hare and Taiwanese supermodel Chiling Lin (林志玲) involved in Monster Dance
How things started with Guy Gilchrist’s drawings as coloring pages that educated children about social distancing, handwashing, mask wearing and other thing related to COVID
Free coloring pages drawn by Guy Gilchrist to educate kids about COVID are available on https://donateppe.org/doodles/
How Dr. Tsai was able to get Monster Dance published in short time to be relevant for the pandemic
How Monster Dance is available in English and Mandarin Chinese
How they came up with the title and concept for Monster Dance
How Dr. Tsai, Guy Gilchrist and Eva Lou worked on Monster Dance virtually and have never met in person
How Monster Dance started as a Kickstarter campaign
How Monster Dance has helped children to deal with COVID
For every copy of Monster Dance sold a donation will be made to Donate PPE
How copies of Monster Dance have been donated to children’s hospitals
How Monster Dance has a presence in Taiwan with the Mandarin Chinese version through the involvement of Taiwanese supermodel Chiling Lin (林志玲)

An Interview with Charles Yu, Winner of the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction Ep 114

Felicia Lin — Mon, 01 Feb 2021 09:10:21 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Charles Yu is a Taiwanese American writer, author of the novel Interior Chinatown, and winner of the 2020 National Book Award for fiction. He spoke candidly with me about how he and his family are dealing with the pandemic, his writing process, what it was like appearing on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and how he transitioned from a career as a lawyer to television writing.

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

How Charles and his family are doing during the pandemic
The piece that Charles wrote for The Atlantic about life during the pandemic
How Charles first started writing poetry as a child
How Charles’ Taiwanese parents’ reactions to his interest in writing have changed over time
How Charles recently found some of the poetry that he wrote when at Berkeley
Charles’ connection to Taiwan
How Charles started writing Interior Chinatown in 2013 and the concept changed over time
How/why Interior Chinatown is written in a screenplay-type format
Charles’ approach to writing
His appearance on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Charles’ writing for TV
How Charles was previously a lawyer and quit to work in TV in 2014
The difference between writing books and for TV
Charles’ interest in writing his own TV series
How Charles feels about being compared to Franz Kafka, Kurt Vonnegut and Douglas Adams
Why/What motivates Charles to write
What themes inspire Charles to write
Advice Charles has for some struggling to write their first book
Why it took Charles seven years to write Interior Chinatown

Talking Taiwan’s Top 5 of 2020 End of Year Review Ep 109

Felicia Lin — Mon, 28 Dec 2020 11:51:23 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Since March of this year, we’ve been publishing new episodes of Talking Taiwan on a weekly basis, so for our last episode of 2020, we thought it would be fun to look back and see which were the top five episodes of the year. It comes as no surprise that 2 of the episodes are related to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Through it all, it’s been amazing to see our listenership grow. In fact, I’ve really enjoyed hearing from listeners who’ve reached out to tell me how much they’ve enjoyed listening to Talking Taiwan. Thanks for all of the positive feedback. We look forward to continuing to deliver new episodes about interesting people and stories connected to Taiwan.

Which episode was your favorite of 2020? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Don’t forget to check out our new feature starting in the new year called “Talking Taiwan Shorts.” We will be creating 100 short one-minute videos for our YouTube channel highlighting a GREAT segment from one of our podcast episodes. Be sure to check out Talking Taiwan’s YouTube channel, or go to our website here for “Talking Taiwan Shorts.”

Below are links to the top five Talking Taiwan episodes of 2020. Wishing you a wonderful rest of 2020, and a Happy New Year!

CORRECTION: At the 15:32-minute in the interview, Dr. Keating remarks, “We are 75 years at the end of World War I.” What he meant to say is that, “We are 75 years at the end of World War II.”

Auntie Sewing Squad 2: Supporting Communities On the Fringe Through Caring Ep 107

Felicia Lin — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 06:34:39 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Kristina Wong and Valerie Soe are back to talk about the Auntie Sewing Squad. When they were last here (on episode 75) the Auntie Sewing Squad was about two months old with over 600 members. A lot has happened with the Auntie Sewing Squad since then.

As you listen to the episode, you might be wondering why is there a dog crying in the background as Kristina talks to us? And what major announcement is Valerie going to make about yet another off-shoot project? You might want to go back and listen to episode 75 first or at least read this description of the Auntie Sewing Squad from their website:

The Auntie Sewing Squad was founded on March 24, 2020 by performance artist and comedian Kristina Wong as a casual effort to connect with other friends sewing homemade masks for essential workers due to the Federal Government’s failure to prepare them with proper personal protective equipment.

Auntie Sewing Squad has been featured on CNN, NBC, KCRW, Washington Post, Good Morning America and many more. We Go Down Sewing, a cross between an anthology, memoir, and a visual record of the work of the Auntie Sewing Squad will be published in Fall 2021 by University of California Press. The Aunties also collaborated with the Kronos Quartet on the film “Radical Care: The Auntie Sewing Squad” which uses music by Kronos and testimony and footage provided by the Aunties. We are a college course at San Francisco State University. We also have hosted two rounds of an online summer mask sewing camp for kids. Our relationship with various First Nations has extended to include fundraising and sending them sewing and relief supplies. We have sent several vans filled with sewing and hygiene supplies to the Seamstresses United Navajo & Hopi Nation for distribution throughout both reservations.

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

How the Auntie Sewing Squad has developed and changed since we last spoke
How Kristina’s role has changed
How masks, mask wearing and mask making have become a political statement
How the Auntie Sewing Squad’s work is about supporting communities forgotten by the federal government such as first nations, incarcerated communities, poor communities of color, migrants at the border
How sewing masks is a political statement for many of the aunties
The Auntie Sewing Squad’s Core Values
The Auntie Sewing Squad’s fiscal sponsor Art2Action which allows donations received by the Auntie Sewing Squad to be tax deductible
Historian Shakedown Auntie Rebecca Solnit
The Karl Marx quote that applies to the Auntie Sewing Squad
How Auntie Care started with an offering of hand salve
The Auntie Sewing Squad’s collaboration with the Kronos Quartet on the eight-minute short film, “Radical Care: The Auntie Sewing Squad”
The press that the Auntie Sewing Squad has received
Kristina’s Good Morning America appearance
The coat and clothing drives that the Auntie Sewing Squad has organized for Lakota Nation and the Navajo Nation
The book about the Auntie Sewing Squad, We Go Down Sewing
The full-length documentary film about the Auntie Sewing Squad that’s in the works
The crazy requests for masks that the Auntie Sewing Squad still receives
Monk robe fabric that was donated to make masks
How the Auntie Sewing Squad has become a sort of national network that supports various communities in need- from people affected by California wildfires to migrants in need of masks in Tijuana
How Kristina’s show and live tour “Kristina Wong for Public Office” became a Zoom and an online experience
The Auntie Sewing Squad’s Kid Sewing Summer Camp

Ways to donate to the Auntie Sewing Squad:

Tax-deductible donation link thanks to Art2Action who has waived the fiscal sponsor fees: https://donorbox.org/auntie-sewing-squad

Kristina Wong PayPal General Donations using (Friends & Family): k@kristinasherylwong.com

Kristina Wong Venmo General Donations HERE: “GiveKristinaWongMoney”

Kristina Wong with set pieces from her show “Kristina Wong for Public Office”

Kristina Wong’s website: http://kristinawong.com/

Kristina Wong’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ilovekristinawong/

Kristina Wong’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYVB9LCGQewhp4LxlachKPQ

Kristina and Valerie’s previous Talking Taiwan interview about the Auntie Sewing Squad: https://staging.talkingtaiwan.com/auntie-sewing-squad-combats-covid-19-one-mask-at-a-time-ep-75/

Valerie with a screen shot of “Radical Care: The Auntie Sewing Squad”

Valerie Soe’s blog: https://beyondasiaphilia.com/

Valerie’s previous Talking Taiwan interview about her documentary film, Love Boat Taiwan: https://staging.talkingtaiwan.com/love-boat-taiwan-interview-asian-american-studies-professor-film-maker-valerie-soe-ep-66/

We Go Down Sewing, a cross between an anthology, memoir, and a visual record of the work of the Auntie Sewing Squad will be published in Fall 2021 by University of California Press

The Tom’s model: https://bit.ly/3oPzNUJ

Art2Action’s website: http://www.art2action.org/

Art2Action’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/art2action/

Kronos Quartet musician wearing a mask made by the Auntie Sewing Squad

Kronos Quartet musicians wearing masks made by the Auntie Sewing Squad

The Kronos Quartet: https://kronosquartet.org/

Historian Shakedown Auntie Rebecca Solnit’s article for The Guardian, “The way we get through this is together: the rise of mutual aid under coronavirus,” which features a mention of the Auntie Sewing Squad: https://bit.ly/2LDuK8d

The post Auntie Sewing Squad 2: Supporting Communities On the Fringe Through Caring Ep 107 appeared first on Talking Taiwan Podcast.

Professor Scott Simon: Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples and Their Connection to Ecology Ep 99

Felicia Lin — Sun, 18 Oct 2020 16:00:03 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Earlier this year, I spoke with Professor Scott Simon about his research on Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. He is a Professor in the School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies and Co-holder of the Research Chair in Taiwan Studies at the University of Ottawa. He’s done research in Taiwan since 1996, spent an accumulated 10 years of residence in the country, and published 3 books about Taiwan. We talked about Taiwan as the cradle of Austronesian peoples and culture, and what the designation of a group of people as “indigenous” means from an international law perspective. What’s interesting to me is how Professor Simon’s work invites us to think of Taiwan as a Pacific island nation rather than a renegade province of China.

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

How Professor Simon got interested in the indigenous peoples of Taiwan
How there were a lot of changes pertaining to the indigenous peoples of Taiwan around 1996
The indigenous people that Professor Simon met while in Taiwan
What brought Professor Simon to Taiwan initially in 1996
How Professor Simon had initially planned to obtain his PhD in China but ended up doing it in Taiwan
How Professor Simon’s research on Taiwan’s indigenous peoples and economic development led him to study the ecology and environment, and the study of Austronesian peoples
The connection between the Bhatani Islands of the Philippines and Taiwan
The similarity between the CHamoru language (of the people of Guam) with the Truku language of the Taiwanese indigenous people and Tao language spoken in Taiwan’s Orchid Island
Looking at Taiwan as a Pacific island nation and not just as connected to China
Taiwan’s connection to Guam, Marieta Islands, Carolina Islands, Maori of New Zealand and Easter Island
Book recommendations for people wanting to learn more about Taiwan’s indigenous peoples
The difference between categorizing a group of people as indigenous vs. an ethnic minority
The three nations in Asia that recognize indigenous peoples
The political implications that come with a group of people being declared indigenous

Dr. Jerome Keating’s Books: Mapping, Paradigm Shifts, and his Favorite Quotes Ep 98

Felicia Lin — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 04:38:17 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

In part two of my conversation with Dr. Keating, we spoke about his other books on mapping and paradigm shifts. Dr. Keating also shared some of his favorite quotes including the one that encapsulates why he writes about Taiwan. And he talked about meeting with Trigg Brown and Josh Ku the owners of the popular Taiwanese American restaurant Win Son, who I interviewed in episode 60.

Since his book, Taiwan The Struggle Gains Focus features some great photos of him with several influential Taiwanese celebrities, politicians and individuals, I asked him to reflect on some of the most memorable individuals he’s met.

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

Keating’s books about Taiwan, that were written before Taiwan The Struggle Gains Focus
How Taiwan The Struggle Gains Focus will probably be the last book Dr. Keating will write about Taiwan
Keating’s book about the mapping of Taiwan
What maps can tell us about the mapmaker, trade, and economies
The role that the Spice Islands played in bringing the West to Asia
Dutch settlement of Anping, Taiwan
Spanish occupation of Taiwan
How the Portuguese named Taiwan “Ilha Formosa”
Keating’s book about paradigms, The Paradigms that Guide Our Lives and Drive Our Souls
The three realms of paradigms: science, metaphysics/teleology, phenomenology
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Examples of paradigm shifts that have happened in the world of physics (science)
What Dr. Keating plans to write about next
Coronavirus and the paradigm shift that it has caused
Keating’s writing process and why he writes
Keating’s favorite quotes
How the owners of the Taiwanese American restaurant Win Son (featured in episode 60), Trigg Brown and Josh Ku sought out Dr. Keating for his perspective on Taiwan’s history
Keating’s thoughts on the late president Lee Teng-hui and on some of well-known politicians and personalities from Taiwan that he’s met
An African quote that sums up why Jerome writes about Taiwan
Where you can buy Dr. Keating’s books and learn more about him

Understanding the History of Taiwan through Dr. Jerome Keating Ep 97

Felicia Lin — Mon, 05 Oct 2020 10:00:32 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Dr. Jerome Keating has been living in Taiwan for over 30 years. Initially he came over to Taiwan to work on the MRT. He has written several books about Taiwan. We invited him on to the podcast to talk about this latest book, Taiwan The Struggle Gains Focus. Dr. Keating also reflected on how Taiwan has changed in the past 30 years, and we discussed things past and present including Taiwan’s complicated international status, amendment of the constitution, changing the official name of Taiwan (which is the Republic of China) and redesigning the passport and flag of Taiwan.

In part two of our interview, Dr. Keating will talk about his other writings, what he plans to write next, and how the owners of a popular New York-based Taiwanese American restaurant sought his advice before opening their restaurant.

CORRECTION: At the 14:40-minute in the interview, Dr. Keating remarks, “We are 75 years at the end of World War I.” What he meant to say is that, “We are 75 years at the end of World War II.”

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

What motivated Dr. Keating to write his latest book, Taiwan The Struggle Gains Focus
Who the book was intended for and who Dr. Keating writes for
How Taiwan has changed in the last 30 years
The semi-martial-like atmosphere of Taiwan when Dr. Keating arrived in 1988
Keating’s first book Island in the Stream and what motivated him to write it
What intrigues Dr. Keating about Taiwan as a subject matter
How the San Francisco Peace Treaty (signed in 1951) left Taiwan in a limbo status
How the US position on Taiwan 75 years after World War II is still undecided
The circumstances surrounding “Taiwan” aka the Republic of China losing its seat in the United Nations in 1971, which included a proposal to have 2 Chinas in the United Nations
The Republic of China and People’s Republic of China’s claims on China
How Taiwan has never had a seat in the United Nations
The Republic of China framework and constitution that Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang brought to Taiwan
Keating’s thoughts on amending Taiwan’s constitution
Changing the official name and flag that represent Taiwan
Submissions for the new Taiwan passport cover design
The Taiwan Civil Government wanting to make Taiwan the 51^st state of the United States
How Dr. Keating sees Taiwan’s future

Professor Andrew Morris: The Relationship Between Taiwan Baseball and its History Ep 96

Felicia Lin — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 08:21:44 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

With major league baseball playoffs soon upon us, we thought that this episode might appeal to our baseball fans. It seems like a distant memory now, when about a month into the Coronavirus pandemic, Taiwan was the only place on the planet where live professional baseball was being played. My guest on this episode is Professor Andrew Morris whose research on baseball in Taiwan presents a fascinating new angle and way of seeing Taiwan’s history. I came across his writings and research when I was doing some research for my interview (episode 77) with Richard Wang the English-speaking broadcaster of CPBL games in Taiwan.

How important is baseball to Taiwan? Did you know that there’s a baseball related image featured on Taiwan’s currency or that Taiwan’s little league baseball team won 17 times from 1979 to 1996?

Interestingly, Professor Morris began our interview by sharing his own mistaken assumption of baseball as a symbol of American culture in Taiwan. He went on to explain that baseball was introduced to Taiwan by Japan, while it was a colony of Japan from 1895-1945. We covered a broad range of topics including how baseball survived the arrival of the Kuomintang in Taiwan, the rise of Taiwan’s little league team, the establishment of a professional baseball league in Taiwan (CPBL) which has had its ups and downs, and the short-lived Taiwan Major League.

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

How Professor Morris got interested in the topic of baseball and the history of Taiwan
How baseball in Taiwan is not as it seems on the surface, a symbol of American culture in Taiwan
What were some of the most surprising and interesting things that Professor Morris has learned about baseball in Taiwan over the course of his research
The role of Taiwan’s Indigenous people in the game of baseball in Taiwan
What baseball tells us about Taiwan’s Japanese colonial era
How Chiayi (嘉義) is known as the spiritual home of baseball and how that was captured in the film Kano
How “Kano,” is the nickname of the old Chiayi Agricultural and Forestry Vocational High School, which comes from the two Japanese words “Ka-gi No-rin”
The Kano baseball team became the best team in Taiwan and is remembered by the Japanese
How Kano is remembered as an example of the success of Japan’s colonialism in Taiwan
Baseball as a pathway for Indigenous peoples during Taiwan’s Japanese colonial period
Professor Morris’ thoughts about the film Kano and its historical accuracy
The Japanese influence that we still see in Taiwanese baseball today
How after the Kuomintang arrived in Taiwan, around 1946, they tried to remove and erase Japanese culture, but baseball was allowed to remain
What happened to baseball after the Kuomintang arrived in Taiwan
How baseball games were played in the aftermath of the 228 massacre and a famous baseball coach was killed in the 228 massacre
Taiwan’s little league baseball team and how it served to bolster Republic of China (ROC) nationalism
The 1968 legend of what led Taiwan creating a little league team and participating in the little league world series
How in 1969, the Taiwanese little league team played in the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, PA for the first time and won
Between 1969-1996 the Taiwanese little league team won the Little League World Series 17 times and became a source of pride for the Taiwanese who watched the games late at night
The story (from the 70s) of how a coach of a little league team comprised mostly of Black players sensed the anti-Chinese and anti-Taiwanese sentiment against the Taiwanese little league team
How the Taiwanese little league team became a source of Taiwanese pride (different from ROC pride)
How the KMT hired Chinatown thugs to beat up the pro-Taiwanese little league fans and fights would break out between them after little league games
What happened to Taiwan’s little league team
The legacy of Taiwan’s little league team
How the American little league teams that were able to beat Taiwan’s little league team were celebrated an ESPN made a 30 for 30 film about this
The story behind the image of the youth baseball team that appears on Taiwan’s 500 dollar bill
The establishment of the CPBL and its game throwing and gambling scandals
The short-lived Taiwan Major League (TML) and how it differed from the CPBL
How baseball has been tied to Taiwan’s national identity in the past but that has changed as Taiwan has become more democratic
The research that Professor Morris is working on now
Professor Morris’ recommendations of other books on the subject of baseball in Taiwan

Small Talk at LGBTQ Film Festival: An Interview with Director Huang Hui-chen Ep 92

Felicia Lin — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 14:51:43 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

A relationship between mother and daughter that was so stonewalled that it took 20 years and a camcorder to make a breakthrough- this was the subject of Huang Hui-chen’s first feature documentary film, Small Talk. Small Talk is one of two documentary films being screened at the Austin Asian American Film Festival’s Prismatic Taiwan (September 4-13), a virtual, six-film series celebrating the past and present of queer Taiwanese cinema. Hui-chen spoke candidly about this deeply personal film that she described as a letter to her mother. She also revealed what happened in the aftermath of the film, and the filmmaking advice that the legendary Taiwanese film director Hou Hsiao-hsien gave her. Her film and personal story give hope to others dealing difficult parent-child relationships. Special thanks to the Austin Asian American Film Festival and Stacey Pai for providing translation.

To purchase tickets to watch Small Talk and learn about the other films featured in Prismatic Taiwan visit: www.aaafilmfest.org/ Talking Taiwan listeners will get $2 off when they use the code TALKING. The Prismatic Taiwan Queer Film Series, features six LGBTQ Taiwan films spanning from 1970 to 2016. You can watch all six films for under $15. To learn more Prismatic Taiwan check out last week’s episode, Episode 91.

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

Hui-chen’s work as an activist
When she got interested in documentary filmmaking
How it took her so long (20 years) to make Small Talk into a movie that her mother and relatives didn’t think she’d actually be able to do it
The footage of her nieces discussing whether their grandma (Hu-Chen’s mother) is a boy or a girl
How she got her mother to finally talk
How she got other family members and her mother’s girlfriends to talk in the film
The one person who she would have like to interview for the movie, but did not
How the film, Small Talk is like a letter to her mother
Why Hui-chen’s husband doesn’t appear in the film
While Hui-chen’s now ex-husband doesn’t appear in Small Talk he will be in her next film which will be about the relationship between love and social activism
Hui-chen’s mother’s reaction to the film after watching it
How Hui-chen’s mother’s reacted when Small Talk was screened at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards
How the film Small Talk has affected her and mother’s relationship with their relatives
What was Hui-chen’s sister’s reaction to Small Talk
How the film Small Talk has affected Hui-chen’s relationship with her mother
How Hui-chen’s relatives reacted to and dealt with to her mother’s lesbianism
How Hou Hsiao-hsien took a leap of faith when he got involved and became the executive producer of Small Talk
What filmmaking advice Hou Hsiao-hsien gave her
How Hui-chen feels about Small Talk having been selected as the Taiwanese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards
Hui-chen’s book about her mother that reveals more that the film did not

Taiwan Books Archives | Talking Taiwan Podcast

How Eva Lou Runs a Multi-Lingual Children’s Book Publishing Company Ep 131

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

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

Related Links:

Dr. Karen Tsai Brings Monster Dance Children’s Book To Life Ep 120

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

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

Related Links:

An Interview with Charles Yu, Winner of the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction Ep 114

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

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

Related Links:

Talking Taiwan’s Top 5 of 2020 End of Year Review Ep 109

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Related Links:

Auntie Sewing Squad 2: Supporting Communities On the Fringe Through Caring Ep 107

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

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

Related Links:

Ways to donate to the Auntie Sewing Squad:

Professor Scott Simon: Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples and Their Connection to Ecology Ep 99

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

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

Related Links:

Dr. Jerome Keating’s Books: Mapping, Paradigm Shifts, and his Favorite Quotes Ep 98

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

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

Related Links:

Understanding the History of Taiwan through Dr. Jerome Keating Ep 97

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

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

Related Links:

Professor Andrew Morris: The Relationship Between Taiwan Baseball and its History Ep 96

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

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

Related Links:

Small Talk at LGBTQ Film Festival: An Interview with Director Huang Hui-chen Ep 92

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

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

Related Links: