Formosa Betrayed’s successful screening brings smiles and pride to the Taiwanese.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Since the early 1970s, the Taiwanese have immigrated to the U.S. in mass numbers, mainly to pursue higher education or better lives for their families.

But left untold is the story of the many Taiwanese pro-democracy activists in America who have spent countless years being blacklisted by the government of Taiwan for speaking out about what they believed in.

Until now.

“Formosa Betrayed,” an independent feature film based on the stories of these activists, premiered on February 28, 2009 at the WGA Theater in Beverly Hills.

Inspired by actual events, “Formosa Betrayed” is set in 1983 and tells the story of an American detective, Jake Kelly (James Van Der Beek), who is assigned to investigate the murder of a Taiwanese American professor who has actively spoken out about the political situation in Taiwan. 

The incident is reminiscent of the murders of Carnegie-Mellon professor Chen Wen-Chen in 1981 and writer Henry Liu, better known by his pen-name Jiang Nan, who was killed in Daly City, California in 1984. Both were killed, it is rumored, by agents of Taiwan’s government for their outspoken criticism of the political system of martial law-era Taiwan.

Setting Formosa Betrayed during this period throws the viewer into the midst of the terror and oppression of 1980s Taiwan, and gives some very important historical perspective on the multinational connections that might have benefited from keeping Taiwan a dictatorship for so long.

After being introduced to these stories by his parents, who were blacklisted by the Chinese Nationalists, Will Tiao set out to create a buzz around this political tragedy by speaking up for those who were killed for simply wanting to voice their opinions.

“I think [‘Formosa Betrayed’] can bring the audience across the cultural barriers to feel the struggle of Taiwan as the same as their own,” Will stated at the premiere.

Also in attendance was Iris Ho, the spokeswoman for the Formosan Association of Public Affairs (FAPA). She gave her approval, stating, “The film is really touching. A lot of the audience cried at the end.”

Many of the film’s long-time supporters were in the audience that night. And amidst their tears, their bright eyes and vibrant smiles provided a moving counterpoint to the countless years of sacrifice they endured in order to make moments like this possible for younger generations.

But the praise didn’t end there. After four years of providing Tiao with “Formosa Betrayed’s” visual identity, which included the film’s website, key art, pitch packet and signage at the premiere, Dreamentia Creative Laboratories’ CCO Jim Olen had nothing but positive accolades for his long-time client.

“Has it been four years already? I grew to love Will and his ideas when we first worked with him on ‘A Starbucks Story.’ He had such passion in everything he was doing that it was incredibly infectious to all of us around him - and you couldn’t help but get swept up in his enthusiasm, looking for ways to get involved with whatever he was talking about. So even though Will sat down with me and spent 3 hours walking me through every single step of his incredible idea for ‘Formosa Betrayed,’ he had me at 你好.”

“Ever since, we’ve been involved on the marketing side of things each step of the way, as he’s built his vision one piece at a time. To watch Will’s film finally premier - after years of fundraising, public speaking and pounding the proverbial pavement - was truly awe-inspiring. And further proof that if you believe in something enough, you can make anything happen. The power of positive thinking lives strongly in this one.”

Let the buzz begin.

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To learn more about the film:

Visit the movie website:http://formosathemovie.com
Join the Facebook group:http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5250182906

You can also visit our first Spotlight article on Will Tiao at:
http://spotlight.taiwaneseamerican.org/2006/06/introducing-will-tiao.html