{ THE WHO }

Before the Japanese invasion of the United States in World War II, Formosa (the island now known as Taiwan) was a Japanese colony. After the war ended, the U.S. Navy placed Chiang Kai-shek’s Chinese Nationalist troops on the island as an interim occupation force to monitor and police the Japanese colony. The Chinese Civil War split the ruling government at the time, and Chiang Kai-shek was exiled and forced to stay on the island. His government – along with its rule – has never left. Many Hollywood films have attempted to shine a light on Chinese culture and politics for an American audience, but none have yet to do so with Taiwan’s unique and oftentimes embroiled political history. While films such as Red Corner, The Last Emperor, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon are among some of the most well known American films featuring Chinese culture, none have dealt fully with the political and social issues facing Taiwan and subsequently America. In fact, most people outside of Taiwan and China are unaware of the history surrounding Taiwan’s political status, let alone the fact that it has been a Chinese-occupied nation for decades, with no globally acknowledged independence.

First-time producer Will Tiao wanted to change that. With a bold script titled Formosa Betrayed, Tiao set out to make a movie that told the truth. Based on actual events that occurred within the United States during the 70’s and 80’s, Formosa Betrayed would be the first American film to ever deal with US-Taiwan relations and explore the issues of democracy, identity, and justice during the White Terror period in Taiwan – and within the border of the US itself. The 228 Massacre, the arrests and killings by the ROC, and America’s shadowy role are all front and center in the film.

But in order for the controversial film to make it in front of audiences, Tiao needed to raise substantial funding (millions of dollars) in both East Asia as well as the United States in order to fund the production and attract the type of talent necessary both in front of and behind the camera. Tiao approached Dreamentia with both a rough script and a vision, to help him finally bring Taiwan’s powerful story to life.

{ THE WHAT }

Funding the project was the first priority. Dreamentia created a Primer™, a proposal Tiao used to tell the story of the film to potential financial backers. It was not a business plan or press kit, but a creatively driven show-brochure that encapsulated the vision, right down to the key art and logo. For international backers, the approach was to be true to the history of the nation, explanatory and documentary-like. Domestically, the focus was on the story’s tension-filled suspense and political intrigue. Without the use of the stars’ images, separate, highly emotional key art was developed to appeal to the two audiences. The shattering of the Taiwanese identity became the central theme, layered on top of the political sabotage woven throughout the story.

Once production began in Bangkok, Taiwan, and Chicago, Dreamentia created an evolving, content-driven website, which was instrumental in keeping fans interested and enthused. The site not only explained the story and presented the cast, but also provided photos from the various sets and updates on the film’s progress. Once production was complete, the website was modified to appeal to a broader audience. In addition to featuring the movie’s cast, high impact one sheets and posters maintained their emotional appeal, using imagery that sparked an immediate reaction from those who knew the story, along with those were unfamiliar with it.

Upon distribution by Silver Media Films, Dreamentia created and produced DVD and promotional artwork for both Domestic and International sales.

{ THE SO WHAT }

Formosa Betrayed premiered the weekend of the anniversary of the 228 Massacre, at the Asian American International Film Festival in July 2009. It garnered numerous awards including “Best Film” and “Best Actor” at the 8th Annual San Diego Film Festival, and was honored with the “Audience Award” at the 2nd Annual Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival. In September of 2009 the film was screened by members of Congress at the Newseum in Washington D.C., presented by the Formosa Foundation alongside a number of Senators and Congressmen – as well as Tiao himself.

In 2010, the film received a limited released in U.S. and Taiwanese theaters, and went on to both high domestic and international DVD distribution and sales. Tiao has since been featured on hundreds of talk shows and in numerous international entertainment magazines as a spokesperson for the Taiwanese plight as well as a posterchild for the underrepresented Asian Hollywood community. In fact, Dreamentia’s marketing materials for the movie have been translated into nearly 25 different languages around the globe.

Although reviews overall were mixed, all seemed to agree on the importance of its message. The Hollywood Reporter summed it up best: “At its plainspoken best, the U.S.- and Thailand-shot film is an eye-opening history lesson more than an atmospheric thriller. It’s nonetheless chilling as it exposes the machinations between countries with no official relationship.”