About

Produced for the Taiwan pavilion at the 2007 Venice Biennale, It’s a Dream is an atmospheric video work set in a dilapidated cinema in Malaysia. Amidst rows of red theatre chairs that recall Goodbye, Dragon Inn 2003, a family share pieces of durian and pear. The father (standing in for Tsai’s own) is played by Lee Kang-sheng; Tsai’s mother plays herself. Through narration, the director reflects on his childhood moviegoing in his hometown of Kuching. The work is an expanded version of a three-minute short commissioned by the Cannes Film Festival for an anthology film celebrating the festival’s 60th anniversary.