The 2nd Taiwan Film Festival in Sydney returns to Event Cinemas George Street from 25 to 28 July 2019. This year’s line-up offers 10 feature films, 4 Golden Horse Film Academy shorts and two independent short films. With a focus on abstraction in art and cinema, the program explores social themes and current issues to create a vivid snapshot of contemporary and traditional life in Taiwan.
This year’s program will also present two films by auteur Ming-Liang Tsai—a retrospective screening of The River (1997) that won Special Jury Prize at Berlin International Film Festival; and a brilliant study of portraiture featuring a synthesiser score by acclaimed composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, Your Face (2018), co-presented with Antenna Documentary Film Festival.
Showcasing the budding talents of Mandarin-speaking regions is four short films from the Golden Horse Film Academy which was established by Hsiao-Hsien Hou in 2009. Each year, 10 to 12 students are selected to take part in this mentorship and development program in Taiwan to produce short films. The Taiwan Film Festival in Sydney will present Upstairs, Downstairs, Fish Tank, Minus, and Flow of Tides.
“The Taiwan Film Festival in Sydney’s 2019 program strays away from liner narratives and clear cut storytelling, and challenges audiences to contemplate what art and cinema are,”says Benson Wu. “We are very excited about this year’s program and collaboration with the Golden Horse Film Academy. We look forward to be a part of the conversations that will emerge following the festival screenings.”
The Island That All Flow By — 川流之島 Source: By Taiwan Film Festival
The River — 河流 Source: by Taiwan Film Festival
Your Face — 你的臉 Source: By Taiwan Film Festival
Nina Wu — 灼人秘密 Source: By Taiwan Film Festival
