23 May,2026 09:51 AM IST | Mumbai | Saanvi Bhosale
A scene from Edward Yang’s Yi Yi (2000). PICS COURTESY/janus
In the early 1980s, Taiwan saw a group of young filmmakers, determined to change cinema against the backdrop of heavy commercialisation in the Taiwanese film industry. One of those changemakers was Edward Yang, who is now heralded as an important pioneer of the Taiwanese new wave. "Yang's films explore the feeling of loneliness, grief and also the beauty of being alive." Sonia Talukdar from The Bombay Movie Collective adds about the quiet yet radical nature of his filmography. Behind the radicalisation however, lied the warm intention to reclaim Taiwanese identity away from the big studios.
Attendees at a screening by the collective. pics courtesy/THE BOMBAY FILM COLLECTIVE
Bollywood's run of blockbuster commercial films is not lost on the people at the film collective, "With this retrospective, we hope to bring audiences back to wanting this genre of movies." Talukdar adds.
"I watched Yi Yi (2000) a couple of years ago, and that movie really did change the way that I view filmmaking in general because his cinematography is so delicate." she adds, speaking about the transformativeness of Yang's films.
Emphasising on Yang's relevance in today's times, owing to the filmmaker's intimate exploration of the urban esse, Talukdar adds, "It's extremely relatable, even though it's not my culture that he's talking about there is something very moving about the way he captures modern life."
Sonia Talukdar and Edward Yang. Pic courtesy/Criterion
While some of Yang's films, notably Yi Yi, were critically acclaimed, much of his filmography never did see the binary light of pop culture, "I think the retrospective is also trying to bring some of those films to the forefront" Talukdar concludes as the retrospective curates lesser-known movies like Mahjong/A Confucian Confusion, Terrorizers, A Brighter Summer Day, and Yi Yi for the coming weekends.
On May 23 to 31; multiple time slots
AT Next to Boojee Cafe, 16th Road, Bandra West.
LOG ON TO @thebombaymoviecollective
Entry Rs 399
