A slew of Taiwanese movies at the Cannes Film Festival offer Taiwan an increasingly rare chance to tell its stories on the global stage.
Introducing his neo-noir thriller Locust (蟲) at the world-famous festival, artist and director KEFF (王凱民) said he was “not interested in debating whether or not Taiwan should be a country.”
“But we’ve gotten to a point where to even reflect the reality of Taiwan is to be provocative, and I don’t agree with that,” he said.
Photo courtesy of CDP & Anupheap Production via CNA
Locust centers on Chung-Han (鍾翰), a restaurant worker who runs with a violent gang by night, and is mute — a striking metaphor for his homeland.
“Chung-Han represents a generation that is unable to speak for itself, but also a place, Taiwan, that is unable to speak for itself,” the director said.
Actor Liu Wei-chen (劉韋辰) was forbidden to speak for weeks before shooting began, to prepare for the role.
Meanwhile Mongrel (白衣蒼狗), which premiered on Monday, explores the lives of undocumented workers, including a caregiver living in the mountains of Taiwan.
Its producer, Lynn Chen (陳瑭羚), told The Hollywood Reporter that Cannes provides an opportunity to share a “unique and compelling cinematic experience.”
KEFF, who has lived much of his life in the US, set out to create his portrait of Taiwanese youth soon after moving back to Taiwan in 2019.
He said he observed a surprising lack of interest from younger generations in Beijing’s crackdown on nearby Hong Kong — an encroachment that many fear could preface a full-scale invasion of Taiwan.
The film also explores the lack of interest in international affairs among young Taiwanese.
KEFF said he wanted to tell human stories from a nation too often viewed by the rest of the world merely as a potential flash point for World War III or a source of top-end semiconductors.
“We’re not just a headline in the news,” he said.
The government has in the past few years tried to make up for its lack of diplomatic clout by building up soft power through film.
Taiwanese funding — including government-backed initiatives — is behind two other films: The Shameless, set in India, and Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot (約見波布, Meeting with Pol Pot), based in Cambodia.
Another, Traversing the Mist (穿越霧中) offers an immersive and explicit look inside a Taiwanese gay sauna.
“We’re not provocateurs, but we have a history of being brave, and so I feel that history should continue,” KEFF said. “Taiwanese people must continue to advocate for themselves. I’m not saying as a political entity, but as human beings.”
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