Invisible Nation (2024)
Director: Vanessa Hope Run Time: 85 min. Rating: NR Release Year: 2024
Starring: Bi-Khim Hsiao, Chu Chen, Michelle Kuo, Tsai Ing-wen, Yu-jie Chen
Country: United States, Taiwan
Language: English, Chinese
About the film:
World Premiere, 2023 Woodstock Film Festival
Official Selection, 2024 Cleveland International Film Festival
With unprecedented access to Taiwan’s sitting head of state, director Vanessa Hope investigates the election and tenure of Tsai Ing-wen, the first female president of Taiwan.
Thorough, incisive and bristling with tension, Invisible Nation (2024) is a living account of Tsai’s tightrope walk as she balances the hopes and dreams of her nation between the colossal geopolitical forces of the U.S. and China. Hope’s restrained observational style captures Tsai at work in her country’s vibrant democracy at home, while seeking full international recognition of Taiwan’s right to exist. At a time when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has demonstrated the ever-present threat of authoritarian aggression, Invisible Nation brings punctual focus to the struggle of Taiwan as it fights for autonomy and freedom from fear.
“Taiwan’s transformation from an authoritarian state to a flourishing democracy determined to decide its own future is charted in [this] engrossing and highly informative documentary”
—Richard Kuipers, Variety
About the filmmaker:
Vanessa Hope is an award-winning producer and director. Vanessa has produced multiple acclaimed films in China including Dir. Wang Quan’an’s Berlin International Film Festival selection The Story Of Ermei (2004) and Dir. Chantal Akerman’s Cannes Film Festival selection Tombee De Nuit Sur Shanghai (2007), part of an omnibus of films titled The State Of The World (2007). She has also produced her own short films, including China In Three Words (2013), an official selection at DOC NYC.
Hope made her directorial debut with the documentary All Eyes and Ears (2015), an exploration of the complex links between the U.S. and China told through the stories of U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman, his adopted daughter Gracie Mei, and civil advocate Chen Guangcheng. Hope’s latest film, Invisible Nation (2024), is about the first female president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, and the story of Taiwan’s geopolitical predicament.
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