The 2026 Far East Film Festival opened with a duo of films by directors who were accompanied by their long-time cinema muses; the first was Singaporean director Anthony Chen, who arrived in Udine with Yeo Yann Yann, the lead actress of the final film of his Growing Up trilogy, a drama, We Are All Strangers….
Category: Taiwanese Cinema
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2025
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival (YIDFF) 2025, the largest biennial festival focusing on documentary in Asia, gathers outstanding works from 2023 to 2025 to navigate the observance from intimate family matters to the turbulence of our living world. This year, the witness of diverse ‘home(land)’ in chaos enshrines the perseverance within people, from Palestine to…
69th BFI London Film Festival: “Left-Handed Girl” Review
Left-Handed Girl is one of those films that makes your heart ache and smile at the same time. In her stunning solo debut, Taiwanese filmmaker Shih-Ching Tsou tells the story of a family who, in the face of struggle, confront painful secrets yet ultimately rediscover what matters most: their love for one another. Following a…
69th BFI London Film Festival: In Conversation with Shih-Ching Tsou, Director of “Left-Handed Girl”
For years, Shih-Ching Tsou has been the heartbeat behind some of contemporary cinema’s most human stories. Born and raised in Taipei, she moved to New York after graduating from Fu Jen Catholic University, earning her master’s in Media Studies at The New School. Her career began with Take Out (2004), a small, vérité-style indie she…
69th BFI London Film Festival: In Conversation with Hsu Ya-Ting, Director of “Island of the Winds”
Born in Taiwan shortly before the end of martial law, Hsu Ya-Ting has become an important voice in Taiwanese documentary cinema. Her films weave together the personal and the political, exploring how memory and place shape people’s lives. With Island of the Winds, she tells an intimate story of the elderly residents of Losheng Sanatorium,…
69th BFI London Film Festival: “Island of the Winds” Review
Hsu Ya-Ting’s Island of the Winds is a heart-rending documentary that immerses the viewer in the often-overlooked lives of the elderly residents of Lesheng Sanatorium, a former leper colony on the outskirts of Taipei. From the very first moments, the film builds an intimate closeness to its subjects, allowing their memories and struggles to surface…
Two Cities, One Heart: The Journey of “(LOVE SONG)”
In a rare and radiant cross-cultural collaboration, (LOVE SONG) brings together the creative forces of Japan and Thailand to tell a story of love. Directed by Champ Weerachit Thongjila, best known for the global BL romantic comedy series 2gether, the film is the acclaimed Thai filmmaker’s first project in Japanese feature cinema. At the centre…
27th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Chieh Shuen Bin, Director of “Organ Child” and Actress Moon Lee
Organ trafficking is a global crisis that hides in plain sight. Generating more than $1.7 billion annually, it’s estimated that one in ten organ transplants occurs through illegal means. In Asia, the growing gap between the wealthy and the poor only intensifies the trade’s horrors. These are not just numbers; they are lives torn apart,…
27th Far East Film Festival: “Organ Child” Review
Organ trading generates over $1.7 billion annually, and about 10% of all transplants are believed to be illegal, staggering figures that are steadily rising across the globe, particularly on Asian continent. Reading about the plight of Falun Gong practitioners in China sheds light on the horrifying reality behind these statistics. Organ trafficking thrives because of…
39th BFI FLARE: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival: “After the Snowmelt” Review
Taiwanese-born director Yi-Shan Lo’s latest documentary, After the Snowmelt (2024), which premiered at the 2024 Visions du Réel festival in the Burning Lights Competition, and was also shown at this year’s BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, is an emotional and visually striking exploration of grief, survival, and identity. After the Snowmelt challenges traditional storytelling…
77th Cannes Film Festival: “Locust” Review
Every generation has its angry young men, rebelling against the cultural conformity of the era. From James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause and Marlon Brando in The Wild One pushing back against the stifling conservatism of the Eisenhower age, to the various turn-of-the-century studies of disaffected adults stilted by middle-class life, these are snapshots…
26th Far East Film Festival Returns with 79 Films from 12 Countries Celebrating Asian Cinema
The Far East Film Festival is back and it’s bigger than ever for its 26th edition, which boasts 79 films from 12 countries, all celebrating Asian cinema. Taking place in Udine, Italy, from 24 April to 2 May, the esteemed film festival will host a number of exciting stars to present their movies to cinephiles….
38th BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival – In Conversation with Su I-Hsuan, Director of “Who’ll Stop the Rain”
Taiwan’s politics has always included a range of issues such as relations with mainland China, sovereignty, democracy, and human rights. These issues have sparked significant debate and activism within Taiwanese society, driving movements for greater autonomy, democratic reforms, and social justice. Looking at the cinematic narratives, some stories combine personal lives with politics in a…
38th BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival – “Who’ll Stop the Rain” Review
Although Who Will Stop The Rain is Su I-Hsuan’s feature film debut, it is not the director’s first film. This goes to her award-winning television film Where the Sun Don’t Shine (Taiwan Public Television Service, 2018) which documents the life of a murderer, Dong, after his release from prison, and the difficulties of rehabilitation for…
VIEW OF THE ARTS 