FEATURE/A Chip Odyssey: New documentary captures Taiwan's journey to chipmaking dominance

By Sunny Lai, CNA staff reporter

"A Chip Odyssey," (造山者-世紀的賭注) Taiwan's first documentary spotlighting its world-leading semiconductor industry, will premiere nationwide Friday after five years of production amid a turbulent global climate.

Chronicling Taiwan's rise from underdog to becoming the central hub of the global chip supply chain over the past five decades, director Hsiao Chu-chen (蕭菊貞) told CNA the film aims to "deliver the spirit of the mountain builders" -- those who have helped propel the nation's semiconductor ascent.

A human story

"I'm not an engineer myself, so I don't know how to make a chip -- even now, I still don't," said Hsiao, a two-time Golden Horse Award winner for Best Documentary Feature.

"But I know how to analyze history and tell human stories," the 53-year-old told CNA during an exclusive interview in Taipei on Wednesday.

One of the first times Hsiao saw the human side of Taiwan's semiconductor industry was at a 2019 memorial service for Hu Ding-hua (胡定華), a pioneer who helped transfer chipmaking knowledge from RCA Corp. in the United States to Taiwan by sending young Taiwanese engineers there for training in the late 1970s.

"I was deeply moved. That's where I first heard how the trailblazers of Taiwan's semiconductor industry brought back the seeds of chipmaking," Hsiao said.

"What struck me was realizing how profoundly this shaped Taiwan -- to the point that it has made the world pay attention to us today."

Once unfamiliar with the development of Taiwan's chip industry -- which she described as a journey that could encapsulate "Taiwan's past 50 years through a single chip" -- Hsiao said the idea of documenting that piece of history "took root in her mind" during the memorial.

'Failure is not an option'

In making the 106-minute film, more than 30 individuals connected to the industry's growth were featured, including from Mark Liu (劉德音), former chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), to former frontline technicians and residents displaced by new fabrication plants.

When asked which interview left the deepest impression, Hsiao pointed to Yang Ding-yuan (楊丁元), a team leader in the RCA program who broke down in tears while recalling the pressure they faced during the mission.

"He said the former economics minister [Sun Yun-suan (孫運璿)] told them, 'You're doing this for the country -- you must succeed, failure is not an option," Hsiao recalled.

"I watched him tear up, saw how emotional he was... He had truly been carrying the national flag on his back all those years," she said.

"It's easy to say now that they succeeded, but imagine if they hadn't," Hsiao said, adding that the moment made her "deeply admire" those who had lived through that era.

Throughout the 1970s, Taiwan faced immense uncertainty, including setbacks such as the severing of diplomatic ties between the United States and the Republic of China (Taiwan's official name) in 1979.

But Hsiao noted that all of Taiwan's "mountain builders" shared a deep belief in protecting the country and a willingness to give their all.

"They believed that if something could make the country or society better, then it was worth striving for... I think that's the true spirit of a 'mountain builder.'" Hsiao said.

'The most difficult part'

Hsiao initially worried her humanities background might not prepare her for the film's high-tech focus, but later found that "the most difficult part wasn't actually the technology."

"It was the shifts in global geopolitics over the past five years and the pace of technological advancement -- that was the truly terrifying part," she said.

From 2019 to 2025, unexpected global developments unfolded, including the COVID-19 pandemic, TSMC surpassing Intel Corp. in chip manufacturing dominance, the rise of artificial intelligence and the escalating U.S.-China trade war, Hsiao noted.

"Who would've thought Trump would return to office, and now, the tariffs," she said with a wry smile.

A good adjustment

Those shifts prompted Hsiao -- a director with over 30 years of film experience -- to adjust the main focus of the documentary.

"At first, I wanted to tell the story of this group of engineers, or the story of semiconductors [in Taiwan]," Hsiao said. "But as I kept filming, I realized this story is deeply tied to the fate of Taiwan itself."

"In the end, what the film presents is Taiwan's situation as seen through the lens of the chip," she said.

It has been difficult for Taiwan to survive on the international stage, Hsiao said, noting that all the country could do was the cheapest kind of contract manufacturing in the early days.

"Don't you think what's happened [to Taiwan] over the past 50 years -- from being unwanted to becoming something the world is now scrambling to get a piece of -- is a journey everyone living on this island should try to understand?" she said, adding that few people truly grasp the story behind Taiwan's semiconductor rise.

The Kaohsiung native said she hopes the film will help Taiwanese audiences rediscover "the strength to protect this country," drawing from the spirit of those "mountain builders."

Beyond Taiwan

By naming the film "Odyssey," Hsiao said she drew inspiration from the ancient Greek epic about a hero's long and arduous journey home -- a path filled with challenges, much like Taiwan's journey in developing its semiconductor industry.

Set to hit the screens across Taiwan on Friday, the Chinese-language film includes English subtitles to help non-Chinese speakers follow the story and better understand Taiwan's chip journey.

Outside Taiwan, Hsiao said her team plans to submit the film to major international film festivals to "first gain better exposure."

Several foreign representative offices in Taiwan have also approached the film's distributor to explore the possibility of screenings in their respective countries, which are "currently in active planning," she added.

Asked what she hopes foreign audiences will take away from the film, Hsiao said she hopes they will come to understand Taiwan -- an island nation with powerful manufacturing capabilities and global influence, built through "the hard work of its people."

"We've worked so hard just to survive on the international stage and to make ourselves stronger," Hsiao said.

"I really hope they can come to understand how precious this island in the Pacific truly is," she added.

Enditem/kb