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Formula 17

Formula 17

(Shi qi sui de tian kong), DJ Chen / Taiwan, 2004
Mandarin / English subtitles, 93 min

Tien is a 17-year-old, inexperienced boy. Full of expectations, he comes to Taipei to enjoy his summer in a big way. He falls in love with the attractive architect Bai who is known by his promiscuity. Thus, the naive and lovestruck Tien discovers the downsides of life in the big city as well as the downsides of his new boyfriend's character. This charming comedy breaks the taboos surrounding homosexuality in Asian film, became the top-visited feature in Taiwan theaters leaving behind even American blockbusters. On the other hand in Singapore, the film was immediately banned as it offers "an illusion of a homosexual utopia".

D.J. Chen (Yin-Jung Chen) (1980)
A representative of the new generation of Taiwanese filmmakers concentrating on commercial production, looking for unusual approaches to film and citing Tsui Hark, Charlie Chaplin and Stephen Chow as their role models. In 2002, D.J. Chen directed a short entitled Sorry Spy, which earned her general recognition. The gay comedy Formula 17 is her full-length debut. Her second picture, Catch Me (2006), is also a comedy, this time about current Taiwan.