# Cheng Yu-chieh

Cheng Yu-chieh (born November 27, 1977) is a Taiwanese director, a screenwriter and an actor. His first feature film Do Over (一年之初) in 2006 won the top prize in Taipei Film Festival and was invited to various international film festivals and gained Cheng international attention.
Besides being a screenwriter and director, Cheng is also known as an actor. In 2008 his portrayal of the police officer, Pan Shi-yuan, in Wang Shaudi's TV drama Police et vous (波麗士大人) was highly appreciated by the audience. Additionally, in 2009, he played Xu Fang-Guo in Chen Hui-Ling's TV drama Autumn's concerto (下一站，幸福) .
Cheng Yu-chieh's second feature film, Yang Yang (陽陽), was released on August 7, 2009, and was selected for the Berlin Film Festival. In 2010, Cheng Yu-chieh wrote and directed a five-episode mini-series entitled They explode the day before graduation (他們在畢業的前一天爆炸), which premiered on Public Television Service (公視). The mini-series received eight nominations at the 46th Golden Bell Awards in 2011, winning five major awards, including Cheng Yu-chieh’s Mini-Series/Movie Screenplay Award.
On April 5, 2012, Cheng founded the Filmosa Pictures Production Company (一期一會影像製作有限公司), producing films, stage shows, music videos, etc.

## Early life

Cheng Yu-chieh began to participate in filmmaking while he was a student at National Taiwan University majoring in Economics. He starred in a few student films and attempted scriptwriting. His then wrote, directed, and acted in his first short film Baby face, which won the Special Jury Prize at the 2002 Taipei Film Festival for Student Film Golden Lion Awards. His 2001 short film Summer, dream (石碇的夏天) won multiple awards, including Best Short Film at the 38th Golden Horse Awards and Best Narrative Feature at the 2002 Taipei Film Awards.
Cheng was able to procure NT$8 million of subsidy from the Taiwanese government's film funding program to make his first feature film Do over, which is based on his award winning script (the 26th Excellent Screenplay Awards in 2003).
Cheng Yu-chieh and his wife Dai Hai-lun were married in June 2008. Dai Hai-Lun also works in the film industry and has served as the Director of the Domestic Affairs Department of the Golden Horse Awards.
Cheng Yu-chieh's father is an overseas Chinese living in Japan. Cheng learned Japanese from a young age and is fluent in the language. He is also the translator of the Chinese version of the Japanese novel Still Walking.

## Filmography

Short film :
| Year | Chinese title | English title |
| 2000 | 私顏 | Baby Face |
| 2001 | 石碇的夏天 | Summer, Dream |
| 2011 | 潛規則（10+10 [zh]） | Unwritten rules in Ten Plus Ten |
Film :
| Year | Chinese title | English title |
| 2006 | 一年之初 | DO OVER |
| 2009 | 陽陽 | Yang Yang |
| 2015 | 太陽的孩子 | Panay |
| 2020 | 親愛的房客 | Dear Tenant |
TV show :
| Year | Chinese title | English title |
| 2010 | 他們在畢業的前一天爆炸 | Days we stared at the sun |
| 2017 | 他們在畢業的前一天爆炸2 | Days we stared at the sun II |
Television film :
| Year | Chinese title | English title |
| 2012 | 野蓮香 | My Little Honey Moon |
| 2017 | 老海人洛馬比克 | Old Seafarer |

## Acting

Short film :
| Year | Chinese title | English title | Role |
| 2000 | 私顏 | Baby Face | |
| 2001 | 愛我在今宵 | Love Me Tonight | |
| 2005 | 海巡尖兵 | The Pain of Others | The senior soldier |
| 2007 | 爸爸的手指頭 | Father's Finger | Grown-up A-Gui (阿貴) |
| 2017 | 繁花盛開 | Blossom | Lena |
| 2018 | 再會！方舟 | Farewell to the Ark | Jie (阿杰) |
| 2019 | 最後一眼 | The Last Gaze | The husband |
| 2019 | 小洋 | The Child of Nowhere | Li Ying-Shen (李英伸) |
| 2019 | 陽關太平 | Rest in Mist | Axiong (阿雄) |
| 2021 | 錦鯉墜落 | Falling Koi | |
| 2021 | 午後的懸涯 | Afternoon on the Cliff | |
TV series :
| Year | Chinese title | English title | Role |
| 2008 | 波麗士大人 | Police et Vous | Pan Shih-yuan (潘士淵) |
| 2009 | 下一站，幸福 | Autumn's Concerto | Xu Fang-kuo (許方國) |
| 2014 | 流氓蛋糕店 | CHOCOLAT | Ye Da-ren (葉達人) |
| 2019 | 鏡子森林 | The Mirror | Huang Kuo-wei (黃國偉) |
| 2021 | 超感應學園 | Sometimes When we Touch | Chief Chang |
| 2021 | 天橋上的魔術師 | The Magician on the Skywalk | The special agent |
| 2022 | 我願意 | The Amazing Grace of Σ | President Chang |
| 2025 | 零日攻擊 | Zero Day | |
Television :
| Year | Chinese title | English title | Role |
| 2009 | 公視人生劇展－垃圾魚 | Life story: Le-se yu/Garbage fish | Hao Fu-zu (郝富足) |
| 2011 | 公視學生劇展－我的拼湊家庭 | Innovative story: My Transformed Family | A-Ming (阿銘) |
| 2011 | 公視學生劇展－下落村的來電 | Innovative story: The Blackout Village | Worker of Taiwan Power Company |
| 2014 | 公視學生劇展－大象的手指會跳舞 | Innovative story: Lemon Grass | Teacher Zhou (周老師) |
| 2020 | 格瑞特真相 | The Greater Good | Chao Si-yuan 趙思源 |
| 2021 | 公視人生劇展－濱西小鎮 | Life Stories: Left Behind | Zhang Yan-bo (張彥博) |
Stage show :
| Year | Chinese title | English title | Role |
| 2019 | 時光の手箱：我的阿爸和卡桑 | A Suitcase of Memories | Yan Hui-min (顏惠民) |

## Awards and honors

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Outcome |
| 2001 | 38nd Golden Horse Awards | Best short film | Summer, dream | Won |
| 2002 | Taipei Film Awards | Best narrative feature | Summer, dream | Won |
| 2006 | Taipei Film Awards | Audience Choice Award | DO OVER | Won |
| 2006 | Taipei Film Awards | NT$1 million Grand Prize | DO OVER | Won |
| 2006 | 43rd Golden Horse Awards | Formosa Film Award | DO OVER | Won |
| 2009 | Taipei Film Awards | Special Jury Award | Yang Yang | Won |
| 2011 | 46th Golden Bell Awards | Mini-Series/Movie Screenplay Award | Days we stared at the sun | Won |
| 2015 | Taipei Film Awards | Audience Choice Award | Wawa no cidal | Won |
| 2018 | 53rd Golden Bell Awards | Best Miniseries | Days we stared at the sun II | Won |
| 2018 | 53rd Golden Bell Awards | Best Directing for a Miniseries or Television Film | Days we stared at the sun II | Won |
| 2020 | 57th Golden Horse Awards | Best original screenplay | Dear tenant | Nominated |

## Political concerns

Cheng Yu-chieh is straightforward with his political views in his films in interviews. In 2011, his short film Unwritten rules in Ten Plus Ten, which was supported by Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee, revealed his concern about the inevitable political consequences of embracing China’s film market: loss of creative freedom. Wawa No Cidal (2015), a film Cheng co-directed with Lekal Sumi Cilangasan, is critical of the government’s economic development plan that did not take into consideration the destruction of the environment and the indigenous people in the east coast of Taiwan. His TV series, Days We Stared at The Sun II, is set between 2013 abd 2017, after the Sunflower Student Movement. When being asked whether he would compromise or revise his future works due to political considerations, he answered that “What motivated me is faith, not fear. I would not let fear decide my future.”