Queer East Film Festival in London to showcase 15 Taiwanese films

London, Sept. 11 (CNA) A total of 15 Taiwanese films will be screened in cinemas across London later this month at the Queer East Film Festival, which will highlight films from 15 Asian countries, according to the organizers.

The line-up of Taiwanese films includes the United Kingdom premiere of award winning director Zero Chou's (周美玲) "Secrets of 1979" (2021), a special presentation of the 1970 classic "The End of the Track," directed by Mou Tun-fei (牟敦芾), and a number of short films and experimental works that showcase Taiwan's vibrant queer culture, according to the organizers.

"Dear Tenant" by Cheng Yu-chieh (鄭有傑), and "Days," a 2020 film by award-winning Taiwan-based Malaysian director Tsai Ming-liang (蔡明亮), will also be among the 15 Taiwanese films screened during the second edition of the festival Sept. 15-26, the organizers said.

The Queer East Film Festival, which aims to amplify the voices of Asian communities in the U.K., will also focus this year on "family," with Japan, the host nation of the Summer Olympics, being chosen as the theme country, the organizers said.

"By showcasing films that challenge conventional understandings of family kinship, I hope to provoke a conversation about how we understand and interpret the meaning and formation of family, through an alternative queer lens, even when the films do not include obvious LGBT storylines," said Taiwanese Wang Yi (王裔), festival director and programmer for Queer East.

Wang said Taiwanese LGBTQ+ films cover a wide range of topics, such as cross-gender issues, adoption, surrogate mothers, and the Taiwan's White Terror era.

This year's festival will also feature panel discussions, with online participation by audiences around the world, on Sept. 18, 23 and 25, the organizers said.

Taiwanese director Zero Chou (周美玲); former Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Yu Mei-nu (尤美女); and Vita Lin (林杏鴻), founder of the Taiwan International Queer Film Festival, will be among the panelists sharing their experiences and stories with people across Asia, according to the organizers.

Launched in 2020, the Queer East Film Festival seeks to facilitate a better understanding of the richness of queer Asian heritage and to bridge the cultural distance between the U.K. public and the Asian region, according to its organizers.