Our Times, a new nostalgic teen romance film produced in Taiwan, has caught the attention of audiences across the Straits. With a box office of about NT$400 million ($12.32 million), the film has become the highest box office earner of 2015 so far on the island. Premiering on the mainland on November 19, Our Times surpassed two Hollywood blockbusters - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 and The Transporter Refueled - to reach the No.1 spot.

Ever since the 2011 romance comedy You Are the Apple of My Eye, also from Taiwan, a wave of nostalgic youth films have swept both the mainland and Taiwan with mixed commercial results. However, just when industry analysts thought moviegoers were growing tired of the genre, Our Times flew in under the radar to succeed against all expectations. 

Still reeling from the film's success, TV producer-turned-director Dorothy Chen sat down with the Global Times on Tuesday to talk about her big screen debut.

A still from Our Times Photo: CFP

Sweet sweet memories

Set in the 1990s, Our Times centers Lin Zhenxin, a high-schooler who has a crush on Ouyang Feifan, the campus heartthrob. Lin meets bad boy Xu Taiyu, who wants to pursue campus sweetheart Tao Minmin. To help each other, these two "losers" join hands in a quest to find love.

Having been shot in Taiwan and featuring a similar story, many have been calling Our Times the female version of You Are the Apple of My Eye. These comparisons increased after the former broke several box office records set by the latter.

"I don't think it's fair to You Are the Apple of My Eye [to compare box office results]. There weren't as many theaters back then as there are today. Environment has a big influence on box office," Chen said.

She added that she feels that any film in this genre that succeeds does so because it touches an emotional chord with audiences.

"They resonate so well because they touch on the childhood memories we all share," she said.

Seeing the film as a story that can soothe the hearts of today's ever-busy moviegoer, Chen feels the film reminds audiences of a slower time when ideas of love just began to awaken. 

"It takes girls a much longer time to express their feelings to a boy. You start to pay special attention to him, decide to write a letter to him, choose notepaper, then send it and wait for reply," Chen said.

"Today, it only takes two seconds to send a WeChat message or to just call. But that time spent waiting and those ambiguous feelings were really beautiful."

While Thailand teen romance A Little Thing Called Love is considered one of the most representative film works in this genre, Chen disagrees with calling first love a little thing.

"A film critic in Taiwan once said that first love is not a little thing but an epic and a life masterpiece. I couldn't agree more," Chen said.

Though Chen regards her film debut as a well decorated gift to all those out there who harbor sweet teenaged memories, the enthusiastic look in her eyes when she talked about the film seemed to indicate it is also a tribute to her own adolescent years.  

Chen admitted that she had pretty much done every silly thing her heroine Lin does in the film and that there was also a similar boy who incited her first feelings of love. Talking about those memories a shy smile appears on her lips. 

Our Times director Dorothy Chen Photo: Courtesy of Zhang Lin

Time in the mainland

Having produced more than a dozen TV shows in Taiwan, Chen has been given the title "Godmother of Taiwan Idol Dramas."

Chen explained that she didn't originally plan on taking the director seat for Our Times, but when plugging her screenplay she was turned down by one director after another. In the end she decided she would have to bring up her baby on her own. 

"Many directors rejected the film because it is yet another youth romance story and there are already plenty of them in the mainland and in Taiwan," Chen told the Global Times. "But it is a work I had worked on for four years. I felt very sad after each rejection. I think it's a great script... It's my baby."

Going from producer to director wasn't easy. In Chen's own words, two people were constantly quarreling in her mind.

Often stuck in the thinking of her previous role, Chen said she worried from time to time whether shooting was happening fast enough and how the budget should be spent. Yet at the same time she told herself she was thinking too much and that she should just focus on directing the film. 

Luckily, her baby has met with the public and is well loved.

This is not the first of Chen's works that have reached the mainland. In 2012, she cooperated in producing the mainland TV drama King of Lan Ling.

Speaking in a Taiwanese accent, some mainland slang occasionally popped from her mouth.

"I lived in the mainland for about five years. Does it sound weird to you?" Chen asked.

In fact, Chen is only one of the many producers, directors and stars from Taiwan who are moving northward. This group also includes the famous Kangsi Coming host Kevin Tsai.

"Many Hollywood filmmakers are here as well," Chen noted, adding that people always head to places with the more resources to create better products.

"People hope to cooperate with stronger industries… it doesn't matter where I work, but having come to the mainland I now have a better idea about what mainland audiences like and we hope to make works that can be enjoyed by a larger crowd."