Synopsis
TONG Yang-tze, born in 1942, Shanghai, living in Taipei. As a prominent contemporary calligrapher, Tong Yang-tze on one hand has inherited the traditions of Chinese calligraphy in her works to carry forward the essence of classical Chinese calligraphy art. On the other hand, she is keen to interact with artists of different disciplines and has attempted to apply calligraphy in a variety of media. She has integrated effectively both the fine traditions of calligraphy and contemporary arts in her artistic creations, garnering attention and discussion.
SOLITARY JOY documents the mental process and her sense of accomplishment as TONG committed herself to the art-making of Chinese calligraphy. The film followed Lady Tong through her exhibitions and activities in the past three years and used this timeline to show her life and creative process. By looking at each and every powerful stroke in her affluent and roaring works, as well as her yet-again courageous steps and breakthroughs, we see how she proved in action what she advocates: The beauty and value of Chinese characters transcends themselves into pure art, a form of modern art as well as a new branch of aesthetics.
Director
WANG Yen-ni
1WANG Yen-ni, born in Taipei, Taiwan in 1980. She graduated from the Motion Picture Department of National Taiwan University of Arts (NTUA). During her studies in NTUA, she made three short films and all were nominated for many international film festivals: the first short film BIRTHDAY was nominated for New Territories at 60th Venice Film Festival, as well as The Berlinale Talent Campus at Berlin Film Festival. The same year, the short documentary PLANE MAKER shot for “View Point” of PTS (Taiwan Public Television Service), achieved the third place for Taipei Image Award and Audience Choice Award at Taipei Film Festival. The film THE SECRET IN THE WIND also won Best Short Film at The Golden Horse Award and Best Feature Film at Taipei Film Festival at 2007. Her latest works are all documentaries, including THE UNFINISHED ROAD: A DOCUMENTARY ON THE FILM WARRIOR OF THE RAINBOW – SEEDIQ BALE and SOLITARY JOY.
