On a dim Wednesday morning, students and local community members, a majority of Chinese-speakers, gathered in San Francisco State University’s Annex I to engage in Taiwanese history.
“A Chip Odyssey,” a documentary directed by Hsiao Chu-Chen and produced by Ben Chen and Ben Tsiang, explores the history of the nation’s economic and industrial innovations created using technology the size of a fingernail.
Chu-Chen was first introduced to the topic of semiconductor production when attending a memorial service in 2019 for Hu Ding-Hwa, a notable figure in the tech industry. Semiconductors are materials that allow electricity to flow through them, and are processed into a chip or integrated circuits. After the service, Chu-Chen decided a film needed to be made to spotlight the underrepresented faces behind the industry. She interviewed over 80 people ranging from engineers, technicians, policy makers and residents who were relocated due to the expansion of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the largest manufacturer of semiconductor technology in the world. The documentary explores Taiwan’s influence on the geopolitical climate surrounding the tech race between the U.S. and China.
SFSU was Chu-Chen’s team’s seventh stop in the U.S. on their international tour. After the movie played, Chu-Chen conducted a Q&A session in which she explained that she wanted to document Taiwan’s growth as a nation as a collective effort, not born in isolation, but as part of a larger struggle.
“Fifty years ago, Taiwan faced a lot of struggles and challenges in the world,” Chu-Chen said. “People used their expertise to use technology to take Taiwan to the next level.”
When putting together a crew for the film, Chu-Chen contacted both producers Tsiang and Chen about the project because of their expertise within the field.
Tsiang began his career inside the tech industry and co-founded Sina.com, a Chinese media conglomerate.
“I think people know TSMC, but they should know the humans behind all the fuzzling,” Tsiang said. “The film’s motivation and intention is to humanize Taiwan to our international friends.”
The documentary’s team traveled with Cnex, a nonprofit that promotes documentary films made by the Chinese community. Cnex’s goal is to preserve Chinese history and share media that represent Chinese culture to the rest of the world. Tsiang is one of the co-founders of Cnex.
Emily Rong, the SFSU Taiwanese Student Association internal president, said Cnex reached out to universities around the Bay Area to offer a free screening for students. Rong said TSA was happy to host them and arranged a screening at Annex I.
“This event helps us to be able to have cultural connections, learn more about Taiwan, and allow people to be curious about Taiwanese culture,” Rong said.
Chen, a semiconductor veteran, stressed the importance of the film in terms of representing Taiwan’s history directly from the people who have created it.
“For us, this wasn’t just a tool; it was a cultural expedition,” Chen said.
The next stop on the film crew’s tour is University of California, Irvine. The team hopes to continue sparking global conversations about the sustainability and morality of the tech industry, while highlighting Taiwan’s role in a global tech landscape.
“We hope the film can connect across generations to really understand where we are, so we can know where we’re going to move forwards, and how we can move forward together,” Tsaing said.
About the contributors
Olivia Bañuelos (she/they) is a contributor for Golden Gate Xpress. She is double majoring in photojournalism and Broadcast and Electronic Communications Arts at San Francisco State University. Olivia was born and raised in Yuba City, California. She enjoys street photography, collaborating with artists on projects through freelance film and photo, creating personal mixed media projects and writing. In her free time, she enjoys watching films, going out with friends and live music.
Amin Faramarz (he/him) is a contributor reporter for Golden Gate Xpress. He is a fourth-year student at San Francisco State University, majoring in journalism and minoring in race and resistance studies. Amin was born and raised in Afghanistan. He currently lives in the Bay Area. Before transferring to SFSU, he was a student reporter for La Voz News, the student newspaper of De Anza College. Amin worked as a sports reporter for Aamaj News Persian, an Afghan online newspaper.
