Burn, Baby, Burn: The Passionate Tale of 'Uncle' Hits the Big Screen – Filming Locations Revealed

By Li Xinyi, compiled report

 

Following the success of 'Gutsy Seniors', another passionate story about older men takes center stage on the big screen. The newly released Taiwanese film 'Burn, Baby, Burn!' tells the story of a group of veterans living in a military dependents’ village whose peaceful lives are interrupted by a group of young people who love playing paintball. The two generations decide to settle things through a high-stakes game of the now-popular survival game. Over half of the film was shot in Kaohsiung’s Lizhi New Village, which was demolished shortly after filming wrapped. Right across the street, Zizhu New Village also served as one of the filming locations. The once-colorfully graffiti-covered dependents’ village still attracts crowds of visitors today.

In recent years, a number of films representing Taiwan’s unique culture have been released. 'Burn, Baby, Burn!' uses a military dependents’ village as its backdrop. To find a suitable village for shooting, the production team traveled across Taiwan before finally settling on Zuoying in Kaohsiung — a naval base area where many large dependents’ villages were concentrated near the harbor. Although Lizhi New Village has long since been demolished, other sites such as Zizhu New Village, Lotus Pond, Qiaotou Sugar Refinery, Qijin Beach, and the Zuoying High-Speed Rail Station were also used as filming locations. Among them, the walls of Zizhu New Village were covered with vibrant graffiti painted by university students, and the quirky installations scattered throughout the dependents’ village serve as yet another example of the fusion between modern art and veteran culture. When asked about the most memorable local flavors during filming, assistant director Peng Zhixuan of 'Burn, Baby, Burn!' mentioned Wang Family Sesame Cakes in Zizhu New Village, known for their unique filling and often served as breakfast for the crew. Liu Family’s Pickled Vegetable and Pork Hot Pot, located near Zhongzheng Hall Cinema, was also noted as a particularly flavorful eatery. Beyond Kaohsiung, Taipei also served as a filming location for the film, including the Human Rights Cultural Park and Xinyi Elementary School.

Director Huang Jianliang of 'Burn, Baby, Burn!' shed tears several times during the filmmaking process. He said, 'So many people supported me with real actions, which moved me deeply. For example, on the last day, when my colleagues learned I had no money left, they each took out their ATM cards and helped me financially. Making this film really made me witness the true beauty of humanity. I've received so much from others — if the movie does well at the box office, I hope to donate part of the profits to charity, so that the love I’ve received can continue to spread.' T-shirts from the film will be sold at a charity exhibition titled 'Seeing the Stories of Veterans' organized by the Yijiangshan Battle Association, with proceeds going to support lonely veterans and their families. Even when he was struggling financially and could barely afford his children's school fees, director Huang Jianliang remained committed to giving back. As the iconic line from 'Burn, Baby, Burn!' goes: 'Life can indeed be full of passion at any time!'