Finalists for Taiwan queer film festival unveiled

2015/08/27

The finalists in the Taiwan International Queer Film Festival awards were announced Aug. 15, spotlighting the diversity of this emerging cinematic genre.

Selected from around 200 Chinese-language submissions from home and abroad, the 10 films are battling it out for the Thong, Brief and Boxer Awards. They comprise five from Taiwan, three from Hong Kong and one apiece from the U.S. and mainland China.

Leading the charge for Taiwan is “The Thrill” by Hou Chi-jan, winner of best director at the 2013 Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival.

The short is a dark, lust-laden tale rich in visual style. Its focus on the conflicted relationship between victim and vampire can be seen as a statement about the struggle to balance desire and morality faced by many people in day-to-day life.

Performances by Taiwan’s You An-shun as the victim and Italian Michele Cesari as the vampire earned the pair rave reviews for their realistic portrayal of individuals wrestling with internal struggles.

The other films from Taiwan are “Coming Home,” “Life of Silence,” “Stay with Me” and “Yu and Rachel.”

Another thought-provoking offering is “The Dragon and Phoenix Show” by Hong Kong director Green Mok. Seasoned actress Lo Fun plays the lead in this fascinating story about a mother attempting to find the ghost of her son, who was driven to suicide by campus bullies, a gay partner.

Combining traditional customs with thrills and slapstick elements, the short offers a fresh take on more mainstream offerings such as the 1990 worldwide box-office smash “Ghost.”

TIQFF curator Lin Chih-chieh said the competition is playing an important role in advocating equal rights for Taiwan’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, as well as examining conflicts in the global movement.

“We are also committed to cultivating young talents and raising the profile of Chinese-language LGBT films on the worldwide stage,” he said, citing the selection of last year’s winner “100 Apples” in the 2015 Tokyo International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.

Screening Oct. 23 to Nov. 22 in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung Cities in that order, the festival is set to unveil Nov. 1 the winners of the Thong, Brief and Boxer Awards, with NT$50,000 (US$1,539), NT$30,000 and NT$20,000 allocated, respectively, as cash prizes.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=234250&ctNode=413)