Taiwan Film Corporation Limited. Nineteen movie theaters run by the Japanese were put under the supervision of the Propaganda Committee of the Taiwan Provincial Administration after World War II when Taiwan was returned to the
Republic of China. After the Taiwan Provincial Government was established in May 1947, these movie theaters were taken over by the KMT's Taiwan Provincial Party Branch to, adding one more theater, form Taiwan Film Corporation on October 1, 1947. Its main business was the operation of movie theaters and the distribution of films. On November 13, 1953, Taiwan Film Corporation completed the official registration as a company.
Agricultural Education Film Company The Agricultural Educational Film Company was established in March 1946, with the aim of promoting agricultural education assisted by electrical devices in the countryside and improving the knowledge level of farmers. Its headquarters was located in
Chongqing, and its production studio was in
Nanjing. The headquarters was moved to Nanjing in May, only to be relocated again to Taipei, Taiwan in August 1949. The production studio was rebuilt in the eastern district of Taichung City, which was originally the residence of Matsuo Okawa, the president of Taiwan News during the Japanese colonial period. In November 1950, Agricultural Educational Film Company began its film production and made its first feature film,
Nightmare Awakening (惡夢初醒), in collaboration with the China Film Studio (中國電影製片廠).
Chiang Ching-kuo, the chairman at that time, personally presided over the opening ceremony at the Taichung studio.
Central Motion Picture Corporation (CMPC) The Agricultural Educational Film Company and Taiwan Film Corporation merged on September 1, 1954, to form the Central Motion Picture Corporation (CMPC) hoping to support domestic film production with boxoffice revenue. served as the first chairman, and Li Ye (李葉) as the first president. Later that year, CMPC released its debut feature film,
By the Hillside (梅崗春回), followed by its first commissioned film
Shan Di Gu Niang (山地姑娘) on October 1, 1955. CMPC began accepting commissions to shoot
Taiwanese language films (台語片) in 1956, such as
Craving for the Spring Wind (望春風). Consequently, CMPC decided to build a new studio in
Shilin, Taipei, in 1960. CMPC's initial foray into color film production began with the production of
Oyster Girl (蚵女) in 1963, which earned the Best Drama Award at the
Asia Pacific Film Festival. This film not only marked the inception of CMPC's "Healthy Realism" approach but also paved the way for a new era in Taiwan cinema and presented a fresh cultural identity to the global audience. In 1972,
Koo Chen-fu became the chairman and planned to establish CMPC Studio. In January 1975, CMPC Studio was completed, occupying an area of 16,000 square meters. It was the largest professional outdoor shooting base in Asia at that time. CMPC made a series of patriotic films in the 1970s, when Taiwan suffered devastating setbacks of foreign relations, such as being expelled from the United Nations in 1975. Most of these films depict national heroes or heroic actions taken by soldiers or ordinary people against the Japanese during World War II, such as
Everlasting Glory (英烈千秋; 1974),
Victory (梅花; 1976), and
Eight Hundred Heroes (八百壯士; 1976). Starting in 1982, CMPC began to produce small-budgeted films about contemporary life instead of genre films. Films such as
In Our Time (光陰的故事; 1982),
That Day on the Beach (海灘的一天; 1983),
Growing Up (小畢的故事; 1983),
The Sandwichman (兒子的大玩偶; 1983), and
Looking out at the Sea (看海的日子; 1984), etc., and helped create the new wave of
New Taiwan Cinema.
Present In 2005, the KMT party sold its shares of CMPC. Starting from 2009, was the chairman of the new CMPC and restored the post-production center. That same year, CMPC changed its name to Central Pictures Corporation. It placed all of its 947 films to the Chinese
Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute for preservation. == Company management ==