Berlin film festival to shine spotlight on Taiwan's minorities

Taipei, Oct. 6 (CNA) The seventh edition of Taiwan Film Festival Berlin will open on Oct. 8 at the Moviemento theater and will seek to shine a spotlight on the often overlooked social minorities through the lenses of seven Taiwanese feature-length films, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Culture.

The festival's opening film, "And Miles to Go Before I Sleep" (九槍) by director Tsai Tsung-lung (蔡崇隆), is a documentary about Vietnamese migrant worker Nguyen Quoc Phi, who was shot by a police officer nine times after attempting to steal a car.

In an age when anti-immigrant sentiment and nationalism are prevalent around the world, the documentary will hopefully provide insight and spark debate among the German public, the ministry said in a press release on Oct. 5.

"The Terrorizers" (恐怖份子) by director Edward Yang (楊德昌) and "Dust of Angels" (少年吔,安啦!) by director Hsu Hsiao-ming (徐小明) depict the struggles and loneliness of social minorities in Taiwan, the ministry said.

Notably, the 4K remastered edition of "Dust of Angels" will be screened for the first time. It will also be the first time the movie has been shown in Germany for 30 years, underscoring the festival's importance in promoting Taiwanese films, according to the ministry.

Adapted from one of the most famous classical Chinese dramas, the multilingual Malaysian historical drama, "Snow in Midsummer" (五月雪) revolves around the "May 13 Incident" in Malaysia, when violence between the Malay and the Chinese populations in Kuala Lumpur on May 13, 1969 resulted in the declaration of a national state of emergency.

The film is an international collaboration between Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia and features cast from the three countries.

The animation "Pigsy" (八戒), by director Chiu Li-wei (邱立偉), is a metaphor for minorities marginalized by society. Meanwhile, "Salli" (莎莉), by director Lien Chien-hung (練建宏), is a love story, and Fish Memories 《(真)新的一天》, by director Chen Hung-i (陳宏一), delves into a love triangle.

Meanwhile, a new segment spotlighting short films has been added. Of the six films that made the cut, five are Taiwanese productions, including "Trust Game" (信任遊戲) by Lin Chih-yu (林芷伃), Iris (小埃) by Tsai I-chieh (蔡宜潔), "OBE" by Jared Yeh (葉子瑞), ABSOLUTELY NO SEXUAL FAVORS / JE PENSE À TOI (吾想汝顯) by Tong Xie (謝忠橦), and Sugarcoat (糖醫) by Joey Chang (張芳語).

The other short film, "Inner Need of Karaoke," by Czech directors Radek Ševčík and Petr Chromčák, was filmed in Taipei's Jiantan area and is a unique take on Taiwan's karaoke culture, the ministry said.

Impression Taiwan, which curated the festival, said in a statement that the festival's theme is "On the EDGE," which seeks to put a spotlight on social minorities, and although the subject may appear gloomy, by zooming in on minorities, some stereotypes that the public may have will hopefully be proven wrong.

For example, Taiwan is often sidelined at international events but has still managed to earn recognition in unexpected ways, it said.

The Taipei Representative Office in the Federal Republic of Germany, which co-organized the six-day event with the ministry, said the festival has served to showcase the appeals of Taiwanese movies and promote cultural exchanges.

Forums and banquets where Taiwanese filmmakers and representatives from Berlin production companies can meet and explore possibilities for collaboration will also be held, further positioning the event as a platform for professional exchanges, the office said.