Revitalization of Chiayi's Wan Guo Movie Theatre creates new possibilities

Old movie theaters were the cradle of Taiwan's film industry and provided people with some escapism from life's trials and tribulations in the days when entertainment was scarce. In addition, they were also political and cultural centers providing a venue for everything from traditional Taiwanese puppetry and opera to weddings, political elections, and even graduation ceremonies. However, as consumer entertainment habits changed over the years, many glorious old movie theaters in Chiayi faced ruin and closed one after another. Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of community builders in Daling, Chiayi's Wan Guo Movie Theatre is being revitalized, reigniting the connection between residents and the movie theater one step at a time. The movie theater's success is slowly increasing tourism and has strengthened local people's sense of identity with the community.

The future of the old movie theater depends not only on the help of local cultural heritage preservation institutions but also on ordinary people helping to guard the birthplace of Taiwan's film industry and inject new life into cinema culture.

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嘉義萬國老戲院 閒置活化新可能

戲院，是台灣電影產業發展的搖籃，在過去缺乏娛樂的日子裡，承載著居民的喜怒哀樂，除此之外，也是地方的政治、文化中心，布袋戲、歌仔戲、婚宴、政治選舉甚至畢業典禮也會在戲院舉行。但隨著消費娛樂習慣改變，許多嘉義輝煌一時的老戲院都面臨閉館命運。不過在大林鎮的萬國戲院，憑藉著經營者的努力，一步一腳印找回居民和戲院間的關聯，也慢慢帶起觀光產業，增加當地人對於地方的認同感。

老戲院的未來，除了靠地方文史機構或文化資產保存團隊幫忙，仍望大家一同協助，守護台灣電影產業的起點，賦予戲院文化新生命。

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