Taipei, June 11 (CNA) Chunghwa Telecom will finance the continued filming of the sequel to the acclaimed eco-documentary "Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above" after director Chi Po-lin died in a helicopter crash in Hualien County in eastern Taiwan on Saturday, while reportedly taking aerial footage for the follow up, Cheng Yu, chairman of the company, said Sunday.
Cheng said the company will hold talks with Chi's production team on continuing shooting of the sequel in order to complete the unfulfilled project and honor the director's important contribution to the promotion of environmental protection in Taiwan.
Meanwhile, the country's largest telecommunications carrier said it will make "Beyond Beauty," which documents Taiwan from an aerial perspective and offers a glimpse of the nation's natural beauty and the impact of human activities and urbanization on the environment, available free of charge via its multimedia on demand service.
By broadcasting the documentary again, Chunghwa Telecom hopes to showcase Chi's passion for the land and his insistence on the need to maintain environmental sustainability in Taiwan, thereby enhancing public awareness of the need to protect the natural beauty of Taiwan.
"Beyond Beauty" took Chi one year to prepare and three years to film. The short film took Best Documentary Award at the Golden Horse Awards in 2013 and was also nominated for Best Original Film Score that year. It grossed NT$220 million (US$7.3 million) at the box office, making it the highest-grossing documentary in the history of Taiwanese cinema.
The 52-year-old filmmaker was one of three people who died on Saturday when the helicopter they were in crashed in the mountainous region of Fengbin Township, according to Hualien police.
Chi was reportedly taking aerial footage for the sequel to "Beyond Beauty."
