Director Chi Po-lin announced yesterday in Taipei that production is set to begin on a new installment of aerial documentary Beyond Beauty: Taiwan From Above (看見台灣).

Beyond Beauty 2 will travel beyond Taiwan to capture the natural environment of Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand and China from the skies over the next year and a half. The film will be shot in 6k resolution with a 5-axis gyro stabilized camera system.

In addition to aerial photography, Chi – a former employee of the Taiwan Area National Expressway Engineering Bureau and an aerial photographer – also plans to use underwater photography this time.

Chi says that about one-third of the film’s NT$100 million (US$3.32 million) is already in place, thanks to support from the Delta Electronics Foundation, the Wistron Foundation, and the Futon Cultural & Educational Foundation. The filmmaker screened a three-minute teaser that will be used to attract additional investors.

Writer, director, and actor Wu Nien-jen, who narrated the first film, will also serve as narrator for the new film. He also spoke at the press conference in support of the film.

In 2013, Beyond Beauty grossed NT$200 million (US$6.64 million), breaking the box office record for a homegrown documentary, and won the best documentary award at the Golden Horse Awards. In addition to showing the natural beauty of Taiwan, the film also highlighted the ecological problems that plagued the island nation.

Beyond Beauty 2 is tentative set for release in 2019.