Taiwanese director wins award at Hot Docs Festival

Taipei, May 4 (CNA) Taiwanese film director Wu Fan (吳璠) won the Emerging International Filmmaker Award with her first documentary feature "Xixi" on Friday evening local time at the 2024 Hot Docs Festival in Toronto.

"Xixi" is about Wu's friendship with Xixi, a Chinese performer whom she met in Berlin, and "is a heartfelt essay film exploring womanhood, autonomy and the power of self-reinvention through video diaries and personal archive," according to the Hot Docs website.

Speaking with CNA, Wu said she wants to dedicate this award to all those continuing to make films, even in difficult times.

"As filmmakers, we come together to convey life, dignity, and meaning," she said.

The jury statement described "Xixi" as "bold, unflinching, and dynamic," adding that "While watching this film, we felt that at no point we knew which direction we were going. Where did it start? Where will it end? That alone was wildly exciting and also, maybe, we didn't need to know."

The jury also praised Wu for crafting a "genuine, informative and transformative film" about Xixi's story as "a daughter, mother, artist and free spirit" which is about "courage, independence, and nonconformity."

According to Wu, "Xixi" is a collaboration between Taiwan, the Philippines, and South Korea. The editor is from Columbia and the film scorer is American.

"Being able to overcome the challenges of working on a multinational team to complete this film means a lot. Even though it is a director award, it also belongs to the whole team," she said.

An alumna of IDFAcademy and holder of a Doc Nomads Joint Master Degree in Documentary Filmmaking, Wu's debut production "Last Days at Sea," which she co-produced, was selected for the Berlin International Film Festival Generation section, the Swiss film festival Visions du Réel, the Hot Docs Festival, as well as the Taipei Film Festival.

According to the Hot Docs website, the Emerging International Filmmaker Award is given to "an international filmmaker whose film in competition is their first or second feature-length film."

One of North America's largest documentary festivals, Hot Docs is taking place from April 25 to May 5 this year.