Atlanta, May 22, 2026 – The Central Libary of the Fulton County Public Library buzzed with anticipation as a capacity audience gathered for a special screening of A Chip Odyssey, presented by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Atlanta. At the film screening, Georgia Asian Times speaks with Director Hsiao Chu-Chen, who had flown in from New York en route from Taipei, for a wide-ranging conversation about the documentary, Taiwan's improbable technological rise.
The film is Taiwan's first documentary to chronicle its five-decade ascent in the semiconductor industry. It had its genesis not in a boardroom pitch, but at a memorial service. In 2019, Director Hsiao was deeply moved by eulogies honoring semiconductor pioneer Hu Ding-Hwa, whose early engineers had traveled overseas on a national mission to acquire the technical knowledge that would ignite Taiwan's chip revolution. “I kept asking myself: what is the spirit at the core of this story?” Hsiao shared with Georgia Asian Times. That question drove five years of production and interviews with nearly 80 figures from across the industry.
The answer, she concluded, was rooted in existential crisis. In the early 1970s, Taiwan found itself in a precarious position on the world stage. Taiwan was expelled from the United Nations and facing profound diplomatic isolation. It was in this climate of uncertainty that government ministers convened and made a bold, almost audacious decision: to wager Taiwan's economic future on the semiconductor industry, a field the island had virtually no experience in. “Taiwan had to find a way to keep existing in this world,” Hsiao said, recalling how official meeting minutes from the era used words like “betting” and “gambling” to describe the strategy. “That decision is why we have this story to tell fifty years later.”
“Taiwan's semiconductor success wasn't stolen from anyone. It came from sacrifice, resolve, and a willingness to bet everything on an uncertain future,” Director Hsiao Chu-Chen
The documentary has struck a remarkable chord with audiences since its June 2025 theatrical release in Taiwan, earning more than NT$30 million at the box office, placing it among the five highest-grossing documentaries in Taiwan's history. Its U.S. tour has been equally enthusiastic, with screenings at universities including Purdue, NJIT, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and now community venues like Atlanta's own Central Libary-Fulton County Public Library. Director Hsiao confirmed that upcoming screenings are planned in Kentucky and Alabama, with the West Coast circuit already underway.
Asked about streaming and broader accessibility, Ben Tsiang, co-Founder and Chairman of CNEX Studio Corporation and Executive Producer of the documentary, offered encouraging news for those who missed the Atlanta event. Starting June 1 through June 8, the film will be available on Taiwan Plus, an English-language public platform for a week international release. A permanent streaming home, potentially including conversations with major platforms, is also being actively explored.
As for what comes next, Director Hsiao showed no signs of slowing down. The semiconductor industry, she noted, is a living, evolving story, new challenges, new generations, new geopolitical pressures. She revealed she is already at work on a followup documentary, approaching the industry from a different point of view. “This is a fast evolving industry,” she said. “The challenges keep coming, and so must the storytelling.”
About the Documentary
The Atlanta screening event was organized by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Atlanta. A Chip Odyssey runs 106 minutes, in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles. The film's Chinese title, 造山者－世紀的賭注, translates as The Mountain Builders: A Century's Gamble. The film will be available internationally on Taiwan Plus (English channel) from June 1–8, 2026. For screening inquiries, contact TECO Atlanta.
