19 Taiwanese films to be shown at French festival

Paris, Feb. 6 (CNA) A total of 19 Taiwanese movies from the 1960s martial law period to contemporary works will be screened at the 30th annual Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas (FICA), which opened in eastern France on Tuesday.

The festival's co-founders, Martine and Jean-marc Therouanne, told Franceinfo that Taiwanese films highlighted the "political, economic and societal evolution" of the island and its "long march towards democracy."

One of the films being shown is "Taiwan, Chronicle of a Threatened Democracy," by Jean-Robert Thomann, a French-born director who obtained Taiwanese citizenship in 2019.

Thomann's documentary chronicles the dueling campaigns of the Democratic Progressive Party's Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) and the Kuomintang's Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) in the 2022 legislative by-election for Taichung's second district.

Thomann told CNA that he wanted to record a local election amid foreign press repeatedly calling Taiwan "the next war zone".

"I wanted to record the mature Taiwanese democratic regime," Thomann said. "This is how I express my love for Taiwanese democracy."

Thomann added that with the global community gradually acknowledging Taiwan's economic and strategic importance, he hoped to boost the French public's understanding of the country with his documentary.

While Taiwan's democracy is still thriving with a transparent government, media supervision and freedom of speech, the presence of risk is also very real, Thomann said.

Some of the threat comes from China trying to undermine Taiwan's democracy with its openness and freedom of speech, he explained. Moreover, political debates are often unhealthy and irrational, with social media manipulating social opinions and some politicians encouraging petty disputes.

Thomann's documentary will be premiered in the film festival and subsequently brought to cinemas in countries including France, Taiwan, and Sweden.

During the festival's opening ceremony, Taiwanese sound engineer Tu Du-chih (杜篤之) and director Zero Chou (周美玲) were awarded the Honorary Gold Camera (Cyclo d'or d'honneur).

Director Laha Mebow (陳潔瑤), a member of Taiwan's Indigenous community, was also present as a member of the jury.

FICA, one of France's leading film festivals, was established in 1995, making it Europe's longest-running Asian film festival. It attracts around 30,000 movie lovers annually.