Taiwan Culture

Institute Unveils Century-Old Earliest Film Footage of Taiwan

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By Devin Tsai/Chris Gorin

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Taiwan’s earliest known moving images have been unveiled by the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute, offering a rare look at the island during the Japanese colonial era. The silent Dutch film titled "Formosa," dating from around 1922 but possibly filmed as early as 1917, depicts Indigenous communities, tea and sugar plantations, and daily life from a distinctly Western perspective.