“Taiwan Revealed: The Presidential Office” was named Best Documentary Programme at the 17th Asian Television Awards in Singapore Dec. 6.
The film, produced jointly by Discovery Channel and the now-defunct Government Information Office to celebrate the ROC centennial, gives viewers insight into the mysteries of the 92-year-old building. “It allows the world to see the development of democracy in Taiwan,” the Presidential Office told Taipei-based Central News Agency, adding that shooting began in August 2010 and took more than a year.
Huang Chien-liang, director of the documentary, said in an interview with CNA that all the nominated films were outstanding. “I never thought I’d win the honor,” he said. “The Presidential Office itself has many mysterious qualities and complex meanings, so I felt pressured when shooting the film.”
Security was another challenge he and his crew faced as many places within the building were off-limits, Huang added, recounting how military police followed them everywhere they went from the moment they stepped into the center of power, whether they were capturing a particular scene or going to the restroom.
“It is not easy for topics of this kind to obtain an award,” Huang said. “To win the honor under such restricted circumstances is really huge recognition.”
Premiered Oct. 2, 2011, the documentary “takes viewers on a tour inside the storied building,” meeting the incumbent President Ma Ying-jeou and other important officials, learning about the security detail, and looking in on a state banquet, Discovery Channel said.
“From the Japanese colonial rule, an authoritarian government, to a young democracy celebrating her centennial, the Presidential Office is the spotlight of the next watershed in Taiwan history, an inspiration for both heartfelt dreams and earnest hopes.” (KML-THN)