Taiwanese director honored at international queer film festival

Madrid, June 25 (CNA) Taiwanese director Zero Chou (周美玲) received the Honorary Award on Monday at the 2025 Zinegoak LGBTIQ+ Film and Performing Arts Festival in Bilbao, Spain.

Alaitz Arenzana Letamendi, director of the festival, said Chou's work has enriched Taiwanese cinema and encouraged filmmakers and queer rights activists around the world.

The award honors Chou's "courage, talent and tireless dedication to creating films that challenge boundaries, break stereotypes and promote a more just and inclusive world," the festival's organizers said in an introductory article.

"Her work is an example of how art can be a powerful tool for social transformation and a mirror of our deepest aspirations," the article said.

As Chou was unable to attend the ceremony due to health issues, her partner of more than 20 years, Hoho Liu (劉芸后), accepted the award on her behalf.

Reading Chou's pre-written acceptance speech, Liu said the two had been involved in the gay rights movement through film, telling one queer story after another in various formats and even reaching audiences in other Asian cities.

Chou was quoted as saying the award belonged not only to her but also to Liu.

The festival held a retrospective exhibition of Chou's work from Monday to Wednesday, featuring her films "Spider Lilies" (刺青), "Splendid Float" (豔光四射歌舞團) and "Drifting Flowers" (漂浪青春).

In an interview with CNA, Liu described a "surprising" experience after the screening of "Spider Lilies," when a local film enthusiast approached her and said he had watched all their works and was moved to tears by the film.

She expressed hope that future creators will make more profound queer films.

In an online interview, a much-recovered Chou told CNA she was grateful for the festival's recognition.

"I thank them for seeing Taiwan's efforts on gay rights," she said.

Chou said the festival screened some of her earliest works, through which audiences could trace her artistic evolution.

She added that it was an honor to have her films shown again, "introducing the world to the Taiwanese gay community's quiet but graceful struggle to survive."

Chou said that although Taiwan became the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2019, it does not mean the world has become a safe place. "Actions must continue to protect the safe spaces we need," she added.

"We will continue filming," she said.

Chou won Best Taiwanese Film at the 2004 Golden Horse Awards for "Splendid Float" and Best Feature Film at the 2007 Teddy Awards -- an official Berlinale prize for films with LGBTQ themes -- for "Spider Lilies." She also received the Lesbianism and Gender Award at the 2009 Zinegoak festival for "Drifting Flowers" and the Honorary Golden Cyclo at the 2024 Vesoul International Festival of Asian Cinema for "Untold Herstory" (流麻溝十五號).

Zinegoak, the International GayLesboTrans Film and Performing Arts Festival in Bilbao, was established in 2004 and has become a benchmark of LGBT festivals internationally, according to its official website.

Zinegoak 2025 will take place from June 23-30.

(By Hu Chia-chi and Wu Kuan-hsien)

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