Six Taiwanese films are to be screened at a film festival organized by Taiwan’s representative office in Spain and two Barcelona-based curators that is being held in the Spanish city from yesterday to tomorrow.
The festival, which aims to tell the stories of Taiwan, is called Taiwan, historias desde dentro, or “Taiwan, stories from within” and is being held at Cinemes Girona in Barcelona.
It is to showcase A Journey in Spring (春行), Moneyboys (金錢男孩), Terra Nullius or: How to Be a Nationalist (無主之地:一部台灣電影), The Pig (豬), The Clock (阿霞的掛鐘) and Temporary (臨時工).
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Culture
Terra Nullius or: How to Be a Nationalist, directed by James Hong (洪子健), is a documentary about the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), the Ministry of Culture said in a statement.
Moneyboys, directed by C.B. Yi (陳熠霖), is a drama about gay people in China, the ministry said.
Shot entirely in Taiwan, it is a collaborative effort between Taiwan, Austria, France and Belgium, it added.
Yo Chen (陳潔曜), an academic researching film studies, said the festival comprises a cross-section of Taiwanese contemporary films.
A Journey in Spring, directed by Wang Ping-wen (王品文) and Peng Tzu-hui (彭紫惠), conveys the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, while The Pig and The Clock, both directed by Singing Chen (陳芯宜), delve into Taiwanese social issues, Yo Chen said.
In Moneyboys, the influence of Taiwanese gay movies is evident, which proves that Taiwanese filmmakers are at the vanguard of a trend toward “democratizing” Mandarin movies, he said.
Temporary, directed by Hsu Hui-ju (許慧如), is a short documentary about the plight of temporary workers in Taiwan, according to the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute.
The festival has been jointly organized by curators Miquel Marti Freixas and Catarina Brites Soares to help Taiwanese productions tap into the Spanish market and have an impact on the local “hipster” scene, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Spain said in a statement.
The selections include dramas, documentaries and shorts by up-and-coming directors over the past decade, telling stories from Taiwan’s urban areas and countryside, Freixas and Soares said in a statement.
Many of the issues discussed in the films are systemic problems in Taiwanese society, they added.
The works by female directors ensure women’s perspectives are included in the storytelling, they said, adding that the body of work is essential for providing audiences with an understanding of Taiwan.
The festival began yesterday with a forum about the latest developments in Taiwanese cinema, featuring Esteve Riambau, director of Filmoteca de Catalunya, and Yo Chen.
More information is available on the film festival’s Web page at www.cinemesgirona.cat/cartelera/fest-taiwan.
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