Private Project

A Time

A young director who shoots a documentary about young people returning to their hometown is feeling the intensity of life as a young man starting a family when he realizes that he too is about to become a father. It turns out that his girlfriend, whom he has been dating and has been his producer for years, is pregnant with a baby. Facing the challenges of marriage, childbirth, and debt, the director decides to turn the camera to himself and, for two years, records the joy of welcoming a new baby and the sadness of his father’s passing away. To everything, there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven. This is a memorandum of growing up for his daughter, You-shi.

  • Chuan-Yang Li
    Director
  • Chuan-Yang Li
    Writer
  • Hsin-Yun Tsai
    Producer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    有時
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 18 minutes 14 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 31, 2020
  • Country of Origin:
    Taiwan
  • Country of Filming:
    Taiwan
  • Language:
    Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Chuan-Yang Li

Chuan-yang Li was born in Taichung. He graduated from the Graduate Institute of Filmmaking at National Taiwan University of Arts. Most of his works have themes about life. He produces works in a realistic and delicate style. The Mirror (Season 3), which was the first TV series he directed, has made him one of the nominees of the best drama director of the Golden Bell Awards. Coin Boy is the one among his short film works which won the most prizes and awards. It won the first prize in Hawaii International Film Festival and was nominated in Clermont-Ferrand International
Short Film Festival. The director also participated in the post-production of many other films and TV series. Recently, he concentrates on directing and screenwriting and continues his learning in the process of creation.

2020
A time (Documentary│Director, Editor) In post-production
2019
The Mirror season 3 (TV series│ Director)
2018
Grandma’s Farting Scooter (Short│ Scriptwriter, Director, Editor)
2016
Coin Boy (Short│Scriptwriter, Director, Editor)
2013
Nail house (Short│Scriptwriter, Director, Editor)

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Director Statement

We didn't expect it to be a self-documentary at first. Our original theme was about young people returning to their hometowns. We followed a young couple on their way to the maternity ward, only to learn that they were having a follow-up visit for a miscarriage. As a documentary filmmaker, I can capture beautiful moments of grief, but I don't want to do it anymore. The pressure of expecting dramatic moments to happen in someone else's real-life is too much for me to bear.
I was not sure how honestly can I film other people, so I decided to make a self-documentary. This only damaged the privacy of my family. My wife in particular made a lot of sacrifices for this documentary, and I am still thankful to her. The unexpected death of my father once made me not knowing how to continue working on the documentary. From that time on, I understood that the truth cannot be recorded because I live in my life knowing everything only after it happened.
Therefore, there was not enough time to film satisfactorily for the camera was always set up after things happened, and the words from one's heart can also be spoken without a camera. But when I thought in another way, I found that I would not go home so many times and have so many talks with my family over the last two years if I didn’t decide to make the documentary. It reminds me of my traumas, but it also heals me in a certain way. Now I feel lucky to have the opportunity to record this period in my life.