Unlike semiconductor manufacturing processes, time is never an element that filmmakers can control. Since its release over three weeks ago, the documentary 'A Chip Odyssey' has accumulated a box office of NT$12 million (approx. US$410,582). The semiconductor godfather, Morris Chang, even quietly bought tickets and watched alongside regular audience members. Whether the screening period can be extended remains a race against time for director Chu-Chen Hsiao.
Five years of dedication: Letting fate decide the timing
Rewinding to the weekend of May 11, 2025, Hsiao premiered 'A Chip Odyssey' to the first batch of viewers: interviewees featured in the film.
She personally greeted guests outside the theater, many of whom were venerable elders from the technology industry. Several couldn't help but ask her, "How many years have you been filming? I've almost forgotten."
After 106 minutes of screening, those same seniors came up to pat her on the shoulder, praising, "It's perfect to release it now—this is exactly the right moment!"
In an exclusive interview with DIGITIMES, Hsiao shared this bittersweet story. To meet the deadline, she had pushed herself relentlessly for three months without sleep.
When asked by fans if releasing two films consecutively in June was a strategic move to capture summer audiences, she laughed inwardly. No director wants to compete head-to-head with Hollywood blockbusters during the summer season. But delaying the release date means you just have to grit your teeth and go ahead.
The god of cinema led her through a rugged and bumpy shooting journey, which ironically allowed the film to serendipitously coincide with the tariff upheavals stirred by US President Donald Trump and TSMC's critical investment crossroads in the US. This resulted in a timely documentary interpreting Taiwan's semiconductor development.
Six months of archaeological research on one store for six minutes of footage
A segment in 'A Chip Odyssey' involves archaeological investigation to find the origin point of Taiwan's IC industry development. According to a long-standing urban legend, it was a soy milk shop on Nanyang Street where former President Ching-Kuo Chiang often held early morning meetings with ministers.
However, no one had verified the actual name, address, or owner of the soy milk shop.
Hsiao conducted field investigations, interviewed neighboring stores, visited libraries, and searched land registry records at the Department of Land Administration. It took seven months to piece together the full context—the soy milk shop was invested in by the Veterans Affairs Council, explaining why top government officials met at such a humble place to discuss national development.
This storyline only lasts six minutes in the film, but the painstaking search reveals Hsiao's uncompromising attitude.
People like visiting Japan and Europe because they can see environments rich with history and stories. The soymilk shop is only 50 years old—not a century-old monument. "Taiwan is so rich and complex; why haven't we properly faced our own history?"
Yet history tends to emphasize differences. In the film, Hsiao portrays the first-generation engineers as diligent and hardworking, but when recounting this history, she does not intend to compare past and present or preach.
"Those people saw a barren wilderness before them. Today's youth open their doors to mountains right outside. The difficulties then and now are different. The background for semiconductor industry development then differs completely from today's international challenges."
History highlights differences; generational perspectives fill gaps
"What you take from history is an attitude, belief, spirit—to use those strengths to respond to current problems." Discussing values and historical views, Hsiao regained her scholarly vigor. She is clearly an educator still actively engaging with new generations on campus.
Before the official release, a major tech company booked a private screening. Afterwards, a group of engineers approached her for photos, and students asked if there were flags or badges available as merchandise.
The feedback from younger generations strengthened her sense of mission. "Kids aren't as clueless as you think. Maybe the ones who need reflection or criticism are the older generation, or even us. Have we truly done our best to pass this history to the kids? Or have we somewhat avoided or evaded dealing with the burden?"
Though avoiding preaching, the film unexpectedly became one of the most popular teaching materials. Principals from Taipei Municipal Chien Kuo High School and National Cheng Kung University privately funded additional screenings to let more students learn about Taiwan's semiconductor past and present. Hsiao stated, "I am a film director—I don't know how to make chips—but seeing people creating Taiwan's history, I want to contribute my part to preserve that history... I feel like I am also a mountain builder."
Building mountains rather than gods: Independent production maintains objectivity
If everyone is a mountain builder, there's no need to obsess over which mountain Taiwan is building or which mountain Hsiao focuses on.
To portray this collective mountain-building effort in semiconductors, she interviewed over 80 industry insiders but notably did not get to interview TSMC founder Morris Chang in person.
Despite multiple invitations, Chang declined due to his decision to be secluded while writing his autobiography, which she respected.
Instead, she and her team collected numerous public speeches and op-eds by Chang and secured full coverage of him receiving the Kwoh-Ting Li Award, supplementing his key role in Taiwan's semiconductor development. Perhaps this made Chang appear more three-dimensional in the film, and Hsiao found peace with this "absence."
For her, it may be a "regret," but it helped keep the film's viewpoint objective and panoramic, avoiding bias toward any individual or corporation—a principle she insisted on throughout production.
Hsiao proudly stated that the entire film was produced with small-scale crowdfunding, without funding from any corporations or political parties. Sponsorships were won over by ideology, with strict emphasis on content remaining free from interference.
Therefore, even key narrators like Qin-Tai Shi and F.C. Tseng saw the finished product for the first time in May 2025.
Hsiao has promised that all historical materials collected will be donated to the libraries of National Tsing Hua University and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University as oral history archives. Perhaps someday, these will sit beside Chang's autobiography as heavyweight testimonies of Taiwan's semiconductor community.
Article edited by Jack Wu
