'Pierce' receives standing ovation at Czechia international film festival

Karlovy Vary, July 4 (CNA) "Pierce" (刺心切骨), a film co-produced by companies in Taiwan, Singapore, and Poland, received a standing ovation at its world premiere Wednesday at the 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) in the Czech Republic.

Selected as the only Chinese-language film for the top-ranked Crystal Globe Competition at the festival, "Pierce" was shot in Taiwan and features Taiwanese actors Tsao Yu-ning (曹佑寧), Liu Hsiu-fu (劉修甫), and Ding Ning (丁寧) in the lead roles, with Singaporean director Nelicia Low (劉慧伶) at the helm.

The world premiere of the film at the KVIFF was attended by Low, Tsao, Liu, other members of the production team and a full house of 1,131 in the audience, at Hotel Thermal in the Czech city of Karlovy Vary.

Addressing the attendees before the screening, Low said it was a huge honor to be at the KVIFF with her crew. She also tearfully thanked her family "for coming here and being with me today" at the premiere.

Set in Taiwan and subtitled in English and Czech, "Pierce" tells the story of a juvenile ex-convict reconnecting with his brother through the sport of fencing. It delves into themes of truth, doubt, and familial ties.

During the screening, the audience -- predominantly Czech -- could be heard laughing and gasping during the most dramatic scenes of the movie.

After the credits, the film received a standing ovation for about three minutes, as about half of the audience, including those in the balcony seats at the hotel's Grand Hall, stayed behind. Some of them went up to the cast and crew to chat and take photos.

In an interview with CNA after the screening, Low said that she broke into tears on stage because she was so moved to see her parents in attendance, given that they do not know much about cinema.

"They have seen me going through a lot of trauma and difficulties," Low said. "So now they say, 'Okay, if you go crazy pursuing something, then go ahead, we will support you.'"

Asked about her response to the three-minute standing ovation for her first feature-length film, she said the happiest moments for her as a director are when she knows that the audience has truly enjoyed her film.

"I believe that a good film should be able to touch everyone. I think cinema has that power," said Low, who had been working on the screenplay for "Pierce" since 2015.

Taiwanese actor Tsao, who plays the lead role in the film, said the premiere was the first time he had watched his own performance in the movie.

"After the screening, when I heard the audience starting to applaud, I was really moved," Tsao told CNA. "Everyone clapped for so long, and they were all smiling at us."

Tsao, who won best supporting actor at the 2014 Taipei Film Festival for his role in the Taiwanese movie "Kano," said the standing ovation at the festival on Wednesday was huge encouragement for him and the rest of the cast and crew.

Meanwhile, Liu, who is visiting Europe for the first time, said he had anticipated significant cultural obstacles, because it was going to be largely a European audience watching a Chinese-language movie.

"But seeing the audience's reactions today, whether they were laughing or having other reactions, it felt magical -- like we were sharing a common language," Liu added.

Petr Marek, a Czech audience member, said he wanted to watch "Pierce" after reading the synopsis, and he was "surprised in a good way," as it flowed nicely from beginning to end.

"Both of the actors were amazing, and the camera [work] really helped the actors because we could see all the emotions," Marek said, referring to Tsao and Liu.

Marek said he plans return to the KVIFF next year, hoping to see more films with Taiwanese elements, which for him are very different from Czech movies.

KVIFF is one of 14 competitive feature film festivals listed by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF), along with the Festival de Cannes and the Venice International Film Festival, which are known as "A-list" festivals.

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