Translator: Ya Hui Hung Reviewer: Helen Chang
What a rotten boss.
Why young people weren't given a chance?
What a rotten job. My monthly salary is only 22K.
What a rotten organization.
Why wasn't my application for financial aid approved?
What a rotten country.
I might be better off going overseas for a working holiday or employment.
Sound familiar to everyone here, isn't it?
These are common complaints among young people here, today.
Actually, one thing is very interesting.
Folks my age were born in the era of economic boom and political reform -
the 1980s.
Yet we have been labelled as the “Strawberry Generation”.
With pleasure, I am one of them.
I'm a relatively "tall" strawberry.
(Laughter)
Last April, I joined one of the top media production companies in Taiwan.
We produced a drama called "K Song Lover" -
a Taiwanese version of "Glee".
It’s an entertaining drama loaded with songs and dances.
I tried to voice my opinion while filmmaking,
but was often told to shut up and focus on documenting,
which was my assignment.
I felt sad when it happened.
Yet I told myself that it's okay.
Just keep going. Hang in there. I'll be there for sure.
One day, a producer asked me
if I'd be interested in working in China after that project.
China has bigger market,
better pay, and superior remuneration.
After some thought, I declined.
He then asked me,
"What can you do in Taiwan afterwards?"
Although I know he meant to ask
what I'd be doing after that project,
I still felt extremely awful.
On top of it, Psy's Gangnam Style was a huge hit back then.
I felt like a loser being kicked around by Psy.
(Laughter)
Just when I was about to call my best friend to complain,
and to tell him I wanted to give up,
I heard a voice saying,
“Hey, Jonathan,
prove your capabilities before you complain.”
I started thinking about the ideas I had back in the college days -
to make more films, shorter films, microfilms, and theatrical productions.
I then talked it over with Albert Chen,
a good friend of mine, now also a team member.
He listened, and he looked at me with a weird facial expression.
He said, “Hey, we’ve already done those.
Why not make a movie?”
A movie? Is he insane?
A movie? We, this group, to make a movie?
How is it possible?
But at the next second,
we were listing potential collaborators,
including production managers, producers,
directors, writers, musical directors,
choreographers, illustrators, animators, and marketing managers.
We interviewed each and every one of them.
We knew that we need all of them to make the film.
Or else, it would be a mission impossible.
Earlier when making the film,
a producer said to me,
"You can make a fool of yourself making a film.
No way you'll find other fools to do it with you."
Actually the "3 Idiots" were very lucky because they found one another.
We were even luckier - we found 60 idiots!
We established the "1987 Studio". It now is 1987 Entertainment Ltd.
We decided to pursuit the goals and dreams of our college days.
We were going to make a movie!
To me, a movie is more than a medium that entertains people,
it actually voices out for the society.
It can be a communication channel that serves many purposes.
So I pondered what topic we would communicate.
I'd like to ask everyone here,
"Have you been hit before?"
I think most of us had, in childhood,
by our parents, teachers or classmates.
Let me give you an example of mine.
I was an obese child.
At the height of 158cm back then, I weighed about the same as I am today.
My mom often disciplined me when I was growing up.
I hence deflated and become this size.
(Laughter)
Or, have you ever hit someone?
Are you aware of other forms of violence more horrible than physical violence?
I want to share a childhood story of mine.
As I said, I was plump and fat as a child.
The one near the upper-left corner was me.
I was a sixth grader on a field trip
to the Tafalong tribe in Hualien.
On our way back, I cannot stop crying.
Our school principal asked me,
“Hey, Jonathan, we are happily heading back to school.
Why are you crying so?”
My immediate response was that I didn't want to go back to school
because we were given too much homework.
Much to my surprise,
the principal spoke to my homeroom teacher about this matter afterwards.
I still remember the day my teacher walked into classroom.
He was furious.
He told the entire class that I had hurt him.
I was as bad as killer Chen Jin-Xing.
The only difference was that he killed with knives
while I did it with words.
I can't recall my exact thoughts or feelings at that moment.
All I remember is his demanding that everyone in class writes an essay
to criticize my character flaws and my bad behavior,
and then take turns reading it out loud on the podium.
Even I had to write one to examine my own errors,
and to condemn myself for my wrong doings.
I was extremely sad and upset
because I've become the outcast since that day.
No one in class talked to me,
as if I was a virus that contaminated those who touched me.
Weren't if for the teacher next room and my parents guided me positively,
I won't be standing here sharing my movie with you.
(Applause)
Thank you.
Was I not at fault? In fact, I was at fault.
Indeed I had hurt and upset the teacher.
Isn’t our society full of all sorts of violence?
We consciously or unconsciously hurt one another.
It makes people reluctant to communicate,
and they become less trusting.
Not only in Taiwan or today,
but also every corner of the world,
then and now.
Violence is a behavior found throughout the entire human history.
Hence, it is of our interest and we are obliged to discuss this subject.
The Chinese title of this movie is "Violence Now."
Before on to the movie,
let me brief you the background of the story.
"The Crucible" is a play by Arthur Miller.
Without further ado, here are clips from that movie.
(Video) (Music)
Woman 1: I saw Sarah Good with the devil.
I saw Goody Osborne with the devil.
Woman 2: I saw Bridget Bishop with the devil.
Woman 3: I saw Goody Howe with the devil.
I saw Goody Barrow with the devil.
No!
Jonathan Liao: That's about it.
I showed the clips to my grandma,
and she asked, “Are those girls insane?”
(Laughters)
Yes, that’s right.
Those girls were insane,
which is the most interesting part of the story.
What's the story about?
It's about a group of young girls, age range from 12 to 17.
They went dancing in the forest one night,
and put a curse on the residents of Salem,
hoping to get rid of them.
Unfortunately, they were caught by the local minister.
Of course, witchcraft was a serious matter during the witch-hunt era.
Salem residents demanded to have those girls hanged.
However, those clever girls
faked innocence and used verbal violence against Salem residents.
They accused the residents of practicing witchcraft to curse them
and caused their absurd behavior - dancing in the forest.
It led to the execution of many Salem residents.
To me, the most interesting part of the story is that all characters,
due to their own need or desire,
chose to protect themselves at the expense of sacrificing others.
In the end, everyone paid the price for the choices they made.
It reflects our society today.
Those in the news, such as -
the death of Hung Chung-Chiu, Ma-Wang political scandal.
Have you ever wonder the real truth behind the news?
Or, what is our role in the society?
Is it a victim,
a victimizer,
a spectator,
or a persecutor?
To make it more interesting,
we made our movie a modern adaptation of The Crucible.
It is about a group of 17-year-old high school students,
all are members of a dance club.
For the love of dancing,
they have been labelled,
by their parents and teachers,
as bad students and nonreaders.
Just out of curiosity, they took drugs one night.
Unfortunately, their homeroom teacher caught them.
He was furious.
He repeatedly whipped them,
and reported them to the disciplinarian.
Those students were very clever.
Wielding their underage status and verbal violence as their weapons,
they counter-accused the teacher of forcing them to take drugs.
It triggered a media frenzy.
School, parents, and media all intervened.
Each actor/actress plays two roles - one then, the other now -
as analogies and metaphors.
In summary, this movie started with a 17-year-old high school boy.
At young age, he encontered an issue of bullying teachers
as well as his family problems.
He was in agony.
It's like a bomb deeply buried inside him, unknowing when it would explode.
He grew up and became a theatrical director.
He read "The Crucible"
and was deeply touched,
so he directed it, and relieved his inner self.
Without further ado, here's the sneak preview
of our yet-to-be-aired movie trailer.
There you go.
(Video) (Music)
[Truth closest to reality] Woman: He did hit me.
It doesn't matter what truth is,
as long as you are not to be blamed.
Only if I tell the truth,
will it really end.
Excuse us. Excuse us.
Why don't you give Mr. Wang a chance to explain?
All I want is your attention
and to be with you.
[The most innocent victim]
You are the only one without fault.
It is they who wronged you, not me.
A strand of hair can serve as evidence.
I've helped you a great deal back then.
If you go down, we are all going down with you.
Expect the worst if you dare to speak out.
[Real and stripped desire]
Because we were happy together,
we sang and danced.
I've never thought
that I'd see it with my own eyes that the devil exits.
My desire got the better of my rationality and morality.
Why do you choose to remain with Satan
and fabricate evidence against innocent people?
Let me go.
I admit that I have danced for the devils.
I want to return to God.
She’s a whore.
We must have her hanged as quickly as possible.
I used to believe that no one could ever know,
but I've come to realize
that God is omniscient
[Violence Now]
Sir,
now you can love me, can't you?
[A 1987 Studio Production]
(Applause)
JL: Thank you.
When the production started,
it felt like we've returned to college days.
We were actively planning and we were devoted.
But we didn't know we'd be running into hurdles everywhere,
may it be design, communication, or seeking external fundings.
We then realized that moviemaking is such a huge and difficult task.
We were often questioned externally.
Each team would collect those questions and go over them on weekly bases.
I've summarized 26 of the questions and doubt they had on us.
I'll briefly described some of them.
Number one ...
They didn’t think we could make a full-length movie.
A 30-minute production is hard enough, let alone it is more than 70 minutes.
No way we could have persisted and completed.
Moviemaking is not for novices or amateurs.
Number 2.
None of us have formal education or training on filmmaking.
It was hard to make through the first day, let alone to complete it.
Tell you the truth. It was really hard on the first day.
We were shaking all over.
Number 3.
We couldn't possibly get any stage actors.
Just as you saw earlier,
the actors are staff and faculties of Taipei University of the Arts
and Taiwan University of Arts.
They've been active on stage in Taiwan, Hongkong and China.
It is said to definitely flop if performed by stage actors rather than movie stars.
In the process, we were doubted, we faced countless hurdles,
and we encountered many difficulties.
Examples of the problems we have encountered.
Firstly, our hard drive crashed and all files were lost.
Next, our schedule was severely impacted by typhoon.
Just our luck - not one, but two typhoons!
Thirdly, the school, our filming location, held a last-minute parent-teacher day
so was unavailable to us.
Number 4, it was difficult to set the filming time
due to the busy schedule of our actors and actresses.
We only have 30 days to make the movie.
We had to complete it within the time limit.
Those were some of the problems we've encountered.
For all the problems we came across,
we talked them over,
found solutions,
and overcame each and every of them.
Perhaps the "3 Idiots" could not solve so many problems,
but we, the 60 fools, together we can!
Our mutual understanding and comradeship
enabled us to find effective ways to collaborate and communicate.
Hence, we've also received some encouragement and help.
Although this movie might not be easily comprehended by the general public
due to its new and unfamiliar format,
we remain confident that it will bring new perspective to the audiences.
You might see it a theatrical stage play as well as a movie.
And, to be honest, the thought of giving up came to my mind a few times.
I didn’t let my team know.
Otherwise they would have fled already.
Every time I was on the brink of giving up,
I would take a good look at buddies around me
and told myself to hang in there.
If you want to learn what leadership is
ahead of the others,
gather up all your courage
and face the challenges and obstacles.
I recall our original intention at the end of filming.
It was simply the desire to complete something,
to complete something different.
We then got together to do it,
and we've accomplished it.
Don't sit and wait for opportunities to come knock on your door.
Go ahead and create your own stage.
Ang Lee, the director, once said,
"The biggest problem of Taiwanese filming is of lone rangers."
That is also what we are trying to change, starting from ourselves.
Geographically speaking, Taiwan is small already.
Our population isn't large either.
If we do not unite,
if we do not find kindred spirits
and work toward our common goals,
we won't be able to help Taiwan obtain world-wide visibility.
Although the 1987 Studio is only a filmmaking crew at this moment,
what we plan to do is much more and much broader.
We are constantly with the expectation
that we will have more ideas,
become more courageous,
have higher ambition,
and spend more time
to make it happen.
Mr. Jin Wei-Chun,
we mean business!
We are the 1987 Studio.
We have proven the capability of the Strawberry Generation!
Thank you.
(Applause)