Taiwanese directors put a spin on romances for young adults

It began with the 2011 sleeper hit You Are the Apple of My Eye. The semi-autobiographical coming-of-age movie by Giddens Ko Ching-teng - the Taiwanese novelist-turned-director's debut - took the island by storm and went on to become a big box office hit on the mainland, and elsewhere in the region. The romantic comedy is now Hong Kong's highest grossing Chinese-language film. The film has since been credited with bringing the good times back to Taiwanese cinema. The island is now known for producing entertaining young adult romances, in addition to art house classics by auteurs such as Hou Hsiao-hsien and the late Edward Yang De-chang.

Although some expected that this trend would be short-lived, young adult romances have continued to flow out of Taiwan. The hits of 2012 were When a Wolf Falls in Love with a Sheep and Gf*Bf, with Lai Chun-yu's Campus Confidential the latest such offering to arrive on our shores. Campus Confidential screened at the Hong Kong International Film Festival and will open in Hong Kong cinemas on Thursday.

Lai believes the public shouldn't be too dismissive of the youthful romantic films that have followed Ko's trailblazing movie, adding that there's room for variety and innovation within the genre.

Recently in town for the festival, along with producer Su Chao-pin, the director points out that the plot in Confidential is unlike most films of its genre. "The beauty gradually changes her attitude over time, and starts to appreciate the geek."

Taking a different approach may be a good way to stand out in a Taiwanese film market that is flooded with young adult romance comedies and dramas.

Many [Taiwanese] filmmakers have jumped on the bandwagon because they lack the financial backing to make other kinds of movies, Su says.