Covid-19 has moved some film festivals online, including the Taiwan Film Festival in Australia. This year, the festival's line-up offers 19 films, which will be available for streaming on-demand at AU$2.99 per film or AU$35 for a package. The festival is taking place from July 6 to July 30.
Viewers around Australia will be able to enjoy a taste of Taiwanese cinema from the comforts of their own home. The program revolves around the theme, forgotten, which focuses on overlooked aspects of society.
"We want to challenge stereotypes of Taiwan with films like Boluomi and The Good Daughter, both screening at the festival this year. We seek to evaluate and reconnect Taiwan's many forgotten identities and culture through this year’s program," said Benson Wu, the festival director.
Some of the notable titles offered in the festival include The Gangs, The Oscars, and The Walking Dead, Detention, and Synapses, the opening film for last year's Golden Horse Film Festival in Taiwan.
Classics from the early 2010s are also featured. GF*BF (2012) by Yang Ya-che traces the friendship of three childhood friends across a tumultuous time in Taiwan's history and features LGBT themes. Taipei Exchanges (2010) by Hsiao Ya-chuan combines fiction and documentary interviews into a quirky film set in a cafe where customers barter goods
Documentary film selections co-presented by Antenna Documentary Film Festival. Run for Dream is an extraordinarily inspiring film about ultramarathon athlete Tommy Chen’s journey to winning the 4 Deserts Race Series. Closing Time, filmed in super 16mm by Swedish director Nicole Voögele, is a kaleidoscope of scenes from Taipei at night, accompanied by Alva Noto’s brilliant score (The Revenant).
Taiwan Film Festival in Australia is supported by the Taiwanese government in association with Spotlight Taiwan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Sydney. The festival is also funded by the NSW Government in association with Multicultural NSW and Screen NSW.
To stream the films and for more info: www.taiwanfilmfestival.org.au
TNL Editor: Daphne K. Lee, Nicholas Haggerty (@thenewslensintl)
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