Nominations for the 10th Taiwan International Documentary Festival competition have been announced. Le Moulin HUANG Ya-li and Realm of Reverberations CHEN Chieh-jen are nominated in both Taiwanese Competition and International Competition. HUANG and CHEN are not conventional documentary filmmakers. Whilst HUANG’s work mostly falls in the spectrum of experimental films, CHEN is no stranger to the realm of contemporary art. Meanwhile, besides Taiwanese Competition, SU Hung-en's The Mountain, and Wansei Painter – Tetsuomi Tateishi by KUO Liang-yin and FUJITA Shuhei will also be the contestants in Asian Vision Competition in the 10th TIDF.
In-depth Viewpoints on Contemporary Issues, Expanding Form and Aesthetics
The fifteen titles nominated in the International Competition will all make their first appearances in Asia at TIDF this year. The contestants in this category not only show a wild imagination on forms in filmmaking and storytelling, but also reflect various aspects of society and humanity. Those Who Feel The Fire Burning from the Netherlands focuses on refugee issues in Europe. It employs a first person perspective of a refugee whose boat capsized on the sea, exploring a new viewpoint on refugee crisis. Covered with the Blood of Jesus focuses on the impacts of a multinational petroleum corporation in Nigeria. It shows how the underprivileged struggle to break through social class under the brutality of global economics. A Family Affair is a family movie that challenges the value of a ‘family’. The director filmed his 95-year-old grandmother and in the hope of digging out the complicated relationships amongst his family members, pushing the filmmaker’s moral boundary as well as and audiences’.
Challenged by the complicated historical background, and the inevitable impact of its post-colonial context, Asian documentary exhibits its fascinating and powerful images. Four titles out of the fifteen nominees come from Southeast Asia and South Asia, showing the limitless potential in this region. Murmurs from the Somber Depths of Sta. Mesa gazes at the fringes of the Philippine society, subtly and poetically expressing the concern over the plight of the outcasts. Cities of Sleep also focuses on the fringes of city, showing the vitality of Indian society by filming homeless people searching for a place sleep. The Road, by Chinese director ZHANG Zanbo, is a fable of a rising city told through the accidents, protests, and gangsters activities of a highway construction. Welcome to Playhouse, draws the modern women’s dilemmas when facing traditional identity, will have its international premiere at TIDF this year.
Revisiting History with a Modern Eye, Breaking through the Boundaries amongst Genres
In the fierce preliminary selection of Taiwanese Competition, fifteen titles out of almost two hundred entries are nominated as the finalist in this category. They come with a wide range of topics including environmental awareness, race, history, art, and culture. Le Moulin is HUANG Ya-li’s first feature documentary. Shot in 16mm, the story of Le Moulin Poetry Society was told in an experimental manner with numerous replicas and poetry, reconstructing the splendor of the first surrealism poetry society in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period. Realm of Reverberations, by video/contemporary artist CHEN Chieh-jen, visualizes the state apparatus against patients of Losheng Sanatorium.
KUO Liang-yin and FUJITA Shuhei's Wansei Painter – Tetsuomi Tateishi reviews the influences of colonialism and war on Taiwanese modern art and literature, bringing a broader view on the Wansei— Taiwanese-born Japanese. In The Mountain, shot in 16mm by SU Hung-en, the history and culture of the indigenous people in Taiwan was told through a tribal elder, the director’s grandfather, and archival footages. The titles in this category exhibits senior as well as emerging Taiwanese filmmakers' reflections and interpretations on the history of the island and their deepest concern over the inner feelings of the unknown people.
The open call for the 10th Taiwan International Documentary Festival ended on the 10th December, 2015. The number of submissions hit a new record of 1,700 from 117 countries and regions. According to observations from the selection committee, the nominated titles in the 10th TIDF encompass contemporary issues, including refugee crisis, capitalism and globalization, the plight of minority, revolution against government, and beyond. Moreover, these titles provide new insights and definitions of reality, even traditional biographical or historical topics are presented in refreshing perspectives.
The 10th TIDF will take place on the 6th to 15th May at Shin Kong Cineplex, SPOT Huashan and various venues in Taipei.
For more information, please visit: www.tidf.org.tw
Full nomination list: http://www.tidf.org.tw/en/news/20318
(Translated by Charlene HUANG)