After undergoing two years of reconstruction under the instruction of director Wu Yifeng and teacher Chen Yijun, the old activity center for the military dependents' village entered a new milestone and becomes the "Taoyuan Art Cinema I" (Taoyuan Guangying). The newly opened movie theatre has 75 seats and a standard Dolby sound system. Not only has it become the highlight of Matsu New Village, but also an important base for the development of film and television in Taoyuan.
Matsu New Village, where Taoyuan Art Cinema I is located, is one of the few remaining military dependents' villages that is still intact and film itself is an important medium used to record the changes of the times. In 2015, the first ever Film Festival of the Taoyuan Art Cinema I when it launched was featured around the theme of military dependents' villages. The nineteen movies included "A Home Too Far," "Eat Drink Man Woman," "Banana Paradise" and "Time Story", etc. After the showing of each film, directors held post-show forums to help viewers know more about the culture of the military dependents' villages. The most famous curation of the Taoyuan Art Cinema I is "An arch of Rainbow: Feng Fei Fei." The series included three movies in which Feng Fei Fei took the leading role, many other classic movies which she sang the theme songs for, and old newspaper clippings, song sheets, gramophone records and other precious artifacts. The whole curation attracted many people to participate, which also made a name for Taoyuan Art Cinema I.
Just like how Taoyuan Art Cinema I positions itself as a "people's cinema", movies and life are inseparable. Therefore, besides artistic films, the curator will select documentaries related to the selected theme of each month, so that the often neglected people, things or events can receive attention. For example, the movies, "Fly, Kite Fly" and "Beyond Beauty-TAIWAN FROM ABOVE," both of which explore the ecological environment of Taiwan, did strike a chord. In addition to the broad range of themes, "Family Theatre" every Saturday creates a different space and experience for watching a movie compared to regular theatre.
