Chen Yi-wen (; born 1966) is a Taiwanese filmmaker and actor.
Career While Taiwanese directors are often associated with slower-paced, personal art films, Chen decided early on when he entered the film industry that he wanted to produce high quality, entertainment-oriented movies.
"The performing arts shouldn’t be inhibited by theory." This motto has become the foundation of Chen's career, which includes screenwriting, directing, as well as theatre, instilling his films with a style that critics view as unique and distinguished.
Chen's first short film, Scenes of Violence, cost NT$3,000 to produce and earned NT$600,000 in returns from television sales in Taiwan and Japan. This success gave him the confidence to devote himself to the film industry. Chen was even interviewed by Wealth Magazine for an in-depth report on the success of his short film for its high ROI (return on investment).
In 1998, a Japanese corporation invested in Chen's first feature film JAM. The film set a record of continuously running for over three months in theatres.
After the success of JAM, Chen completed a gangster film, A Chance to Die, once again getting financing from Japan. He asked Miki Mizuno, a well-known Japanese actress, and Takashi Kashiwabara, a famous Japanese idol who is also popular in Taiwan, to play the main characters. This was his second feature film.
For his third feature, The Cabbie, Chen secured acclaimed Japanese actress Rie Miyazawa for the lead. The film was widely praised as a fresh, inventive contribution to Taiwanese comedy.
Chen has continued to search for new and innovative storytelling methods. He returned from a short-term sabbatical in New York, with a renewed focus on producing high quality films.
In 2006, Chen finished a 35mm feature film, Tripping, also known as Time Tripper, which combined the road movie with a martial arts film. In 2013, he produced and directed As the Winds Blow.
After 2015, Chen worked as an actor in many feature films, Godspeed, The Great Buddha+, Xiao Mei, High Flash, A Sun, The Falls ... and so on, and he also acted on Netflix programs, Wake Up 2, On Children, and Monstrous Me.
In 2019, Chen got the Best Leading Actor Award by the feature film A Sun in the 56th Golden Horse Awards and he also got the nominee of the Best Leading Actors by a short film A Taxi Driver in the 54th Golden Bell Awards.
The Best Actor Award (Short Film) went to Yi-Wen by a short film Growing Pains in the 40th Hawaii International Film Festival in 2020.
Filmography Worked as an actor in feature films YearTitleRoleDirector 1989 The Man from Island West Ah-Jian (aka Ah-Chuan) Ming-Chuan Huang 1991 A Brighter Summer Day Horse Cart Edward Yang 1994 A Confucian Confusion Liren Edward Yang 1996 Mahjong Taxi driver Edward Yang 1998 Jam Restaurant owner Liu Chen Yi-wen (aka Yi-Wen Chen) 2000 Yi Yi Apartment guard Edward Yang 2011 Formosa Mambo Toro Chi-Tsai Wang 2013 How to Describe a Cloud Ophthalmologist David Verbeek 2014 Paradise in Service Colonel Yu Doze Niu 2015 Keelung Zi-Long Zhao Liang Qiao 2016 Godspeed Ah-Wen Chung Mong-Hong 2017 The Great Buddha+ Congressman Gao Hsin-Yao Huang 2018 Xiao Mei Landlord Maren Hwang The Blue Choker Dorm Master Hsun-Wei David Chang High Flash Lin-Kun Wei Ching-Shen Chuang 2019 Looking for Kafka Big Cock Jade Y. Chen A Sun Ah-Wen Chung Mong-Hong 2020 Someone Who Was Lost Tai's Father Chi-Wai Cheong, Jhih-Yun Lin Classmates Minus Congressman Gao Hsin-Yao Huang A Leg Senior Policeman Yao-Sheng Chang 2021 Plurality Chi-Hwei Liao Aozaru Shiao Treat or Trick Hsu Fu-Hsuang Hsu The Falls Mr. Chen Chung Mong-Hong Increasing Echo Fu-Sheng Yen Hsiang Chienn Leave Me Along Chao Yang-Chung Fan 2022Summer Yen Lui Che-Hsien Su Funeral Chuan-Tsai Li Dan-Quei Shen 2023 The Pig, The Snake and The Pigeon Lu-ho Lin Ching-Po Wong 2024 The Embers Officer CHEN Chung Mong-Hong 2025A Foggy Tale Intelligence Chief FAN Chuen Yu-Hsun Chen 2026Double Happiness Chairman Shie Joseph Chen-Chieh Hsu Tristes Tropiques Park Hoon-Jung Cold War 1994 Ma Teng Fong Longman Leung
Worked as a director Feature films directed 1994 A Confucian Confusion（Assistant Director） 1998 Jam（Screenwriter, concurrently） 2000 A Chance to Die（Screenwriter & Costume Designer, concurrently） 2000 The Cabbie 2006 Tripping (aka: Time Tripper, aka: Gen Yu Den)（Screenwriter, concurrently） 2009 File No. 1689（Screenwriter & Producer, concurrently） 2013 As the Winds Blow（Screenwriter & Producer, concurrently）
Short films directed 1994 Scenes of Violence（Screenwriter, concurrently） 1995 Lessons（Screenwriter, concurrently）
Awards and nominations for actor or director Year Awards ceremony Category Film Title Role (for actor) Result 1994 Taipei Film Awards Top Award (Non-commercial)Scenes of Violence 1995 4th Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival Awards for Excellence (New Asian Currents) 18th Golden Harvest Awards for ExcellenceLessons 1998 Vancouver International Film Festival Jury Special MentionsJam 2000 37th Golden Horse Awards Grand Jury Award The Cabbie3rd Taipei Film Festival Grand Jury Award Best Director Award 2001 3rd Deauville Asian Film Festival Best Director (Golden Lotus) Award 2019 6th Taoyuan Film Festival Jury Special Mentions A Taxi Driver Ro-Chang Tsuei 54th Golden Bell Awards Best Actor (Mini Series or TV Films) 56th Golden Horse Awards Best Leading Actor A Sun Wen Taiwan Film Critics Society Awards Best Actor 2020 11th Youth Film Manual Annual Ceremony Best Actors of Annual Recommendations in 2019 14th Asian Film Awards Best Actor 40th Hawaii International Film Festival Best Actor (Short films)Growing PainsRen-Hsiung Huang 2022 24th Taipei Film Festival Best Leading Actor Increasing Echo Fu-Sheng Yen 2026 1st Taiwan Pop Movie Awards Villain Role of the Year A Foggy Tale Intelligence Chief FAN Chuen
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