Su Hui-Yu's 'The Women's Revenge' Resurrects Taiwan's Exploitative Cinema Through Deepfake Technology

In 'The Women's Revenge' (2020), Taiwanese director Su Hui-Yu employs deepfake technology to portray himself as a female avenger, marking the second installment of his series that reinterprets subversive Taiwanese classics. This film is inspired by Taiwan Black Movies, a controversial genre from the late 1970s and early 1980s during the Kuomintang's martial law. To examine gender disparities, Su digitally transforms into 1980s actress Lu Hsiao-Fen. The film was showcased at the 2021 International Film Festival Rotterdam, following 'The Glamorous Boys of Tang' (2018). Su’s artistry reimagines personal recollections and archival content into surreal narratives, incorporating elements from Yang Chia-Yun's 'The Lady Avenger' (1981) and East Asian spirituality, addressing historical omissions and Taiwan's modern progressive atmosphere.