Director Aozaru Shiao’s New Sci-Fi Movie Code 193 Transform Taichung into a Futuristic City

Aozaru Shiao, who won the Best Director Award from the Golden Bell Awards with his TV series “Wake Up”, started the shooting of his new film Code 193 (tentative) in Taichung. The story is set in the near future, which is uncommon in Taiwan’s films. In the film, a manhunt for the killer with a limited time window was kicked off after a small bus flipped. The film crew has been shooting non-stop in Taichung. Lin Ying-Chih, CEO of Taichung Film Development Foundation, visited the crew during their break with the famous Hung Rui Chen sandwiches to wish them best of luck while shooting in Taichung.

Director Hsiao, who likes to tell a story in a fantasy world, has combined various elements and taken the audience to a diverse fantasy land from Lamb, Brotherhood of Legio and the latest Code 193. Watch as the protagonist, after a bewildering car accident, works his way to piece together the truth. Hsiao, known for his high standard for visual aesthetics, chose to shoot his new film in Taichung Central Park (opened last year) and roads surrounding the ever-popular Gaomei Wetlands. To turn Taichung into the fantasy land for the movie, Jimmy Yu, the renowned photographer & director in the advertising industry, was hired. On the day when CEO Lin visited the crew, they were filming a high-tension car chase with two cameras and two camera drones simultaneously, capturing all angles of the scene. This is the testament to the director and the cameramen’s skills in mise-en-scène. CEO Lin was thrilled to see a different side of the Central Park as well.

Director Hsiao, who grew up with comic books and video games, studied design and motion pictures. The Film Assistant Division under the Taichung Film Development Foundation, in order to help Director Hsiao find a location that meets his high standards for aesthetics, conducted location scouting several times with the crew. After some back and forth, the director finally decided on Taichung Central Park, the lung of Taichung. Since its opening last year, this was the first application to shoot a film in the park. The site for Taichung Shui-nan Airport has been idle. But under the development of the Taichung City government, the site now includes the Central Park (67 hectares) with Taichung Green Museumbrary, Central Taiwan Movie Center and International Convention Exhibition Center still under construction. The airport will gradually be transformed into the Shui-nan smart city and become the new landmark in Taichung.

Since its founding almost three years ago, TFDF has been sparing no efforts in providing the best and most professional film assistance. By combining public and private resources, the foundation helps film crews shoot their films without obstacles. The foundation welcomes all film companies to shoot their films in Taichung.