Film on work woes of foreign students in Taiwan wins festival award

Taipei, Oct. 13 (CNA) "A Better Place" (留學生), a film exploring the increasingly blurred line between international students and migrant workers in Taiwan, was among the titles recognized at the first-ever Taiwan International Human Rights Film Awards.

The film follows two Vietnamese students, Ching-chun and Mei, who work part-time jobs where they face exploitation and risk becoming undocumented workers in Taiwan.

It won the top prize in the Youth Category. An award ceremony was held Sunday at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei following the conclusion of the Taiwan International Human Rights Film Festival.

Ben Oui (黃勇嵻), the film's Malaysian director, said he hopes to use the protagonists' dual identity to provide a realistic portrayal of the daily struggles faced by people who share similar experiences.

The jury recognized the film for its in-depth depiction of Taiwan's deep-seated, systemic labor issues, the Ministry of Culture, which oversaw the film festival, said in a statement on Sunday.

Meanwhile, "The Taste of Pork Belly" (五花肉) by director Sophie Suei (隋淑芬) bagged the top prize in the Open Category.

Edited by Golden Horse Award-winning veteran Liao Ching-sung (廖慶松) and starring Esther Huang (小薰) and Tuo Tsung-hua (庹宗華), the film portrays the 1960s White Terror through the eyes of a young boy discovering his parents' grim secrets, the ministry said.

The jury praised its literary storytelling and nuanced female perspective, describing it as a "silent indictment of the times," the ministry said.

Oui and Suei will each receive NT$150,000 (US$4,885.28) in prize money.

In her remarks, Deputy Culture Minister Sue Wang (王時思) said the entries covered a broad range of topics, including the White Terror era, labor rights, judicial justice, freedom of religion, and immigration, underscoring cinema's power as a medium for memory and dialogue on human rights.

"These are stories that can only be told on free soil like Taiwan's," she said.

She added that the ministry would continue promoting human rights education through film and use the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall as a venue for democracy and freedom education, so "the world can see Taiwan's efforts to safeguard democracy, freedom and human rights."