We present a list of 25 films worth watching at the Taipei Film Festival that will take place from June 30th – July 16th (Taiwan).

2 Idiots by Huang Ming-Zheng – Taiwan | 2016 – 98 min.

Accidently hired by a private investigation firm, two young men are sent on a mission of collecting debt. When they finally get a 10-million-dollar check from the director of an orphanage, they find that they don’t feel happy at all. A battle between their real personalities and the harsh reality begins…

Section: Taipei Film Awards – Narrative Features

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.14.2016 – Spot Huashan Cinema 1 – 11:00 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)

After the Storm by Koreeda Hirokazu – Japan | 2016 – 117 min.

Dwelling on his past glory as a prize-winning author, Ryota wastes his money on gambling and can barely pay child support. Renewing contact with his initially distrusting family, Ryota struggles to take back control of his existence and to find a lasting place in the life of his young son until a stormy summer night offers them a chance to truly bond again.

Section: Visions

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.02.2016 – Shin Kong Cineplex 2 – 18:50 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance. No English Subtitles)

Alone by Park Hong-Min – South Korea | 2015 – 90 min.

While Soo-min is filming a documentary, he captures a masked man murdering a woman. He tries to run away but gets caught and killed by the masked man in the alley. Soo-min wakes up and believes he has just had a nightmare but gets killed again. Every time he tries to escape, he is brought back to the same alley…

Section: International New Talent Competition

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.01.2016 – Taipei Zhongshan Hall – 19:00 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)
07.04.2016 – Shin Kong Cineplex 1 -15:30 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)
07.08.2016 – Spot Huashan Cinema A2 – 13:50 pm

Don’t look at me that way by Uisenma Borchu – Germany, Mongolia | 2015 – 88 min.

Single mother Iva lives with her 5-year-old daughter, Sophia, and is struggling to make ends meet. One day they meet their new neighbour, the mysterious Hedi, who does what she likes and is not afraid of how the others see her. Slowly, Hedi works her way into Iva’s life, and the two women start a relationship.

Section: International New Talent Competition

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.03.2016 – Taipei Zhongshan Hall – 11:00 am (With filmmaker’s attendance)
07.04.2016 – Shin Kong Cineplex 1 – 21:30 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)
07.13.2016 – Shin Kong Cineplex 2 – 15:20 pm

Crosscurrent by Yang Chao – China | 2016 – 116 min.

Gao Chun, a captain of a cargo ship sailing up the Yangtze River, disembarks at every port in search of love. However, he gradually realizes that the women he meets at different ports appear to be the same person. Bewildered, Gao Chun soon finds out where she appears trace back to a collection of poems. Obsessed with her, Gao Chun tries to unveil the mysteries.

Section: Visions

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.06.2016 – Taipei Zhongshan Hall – 19:00 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)
07.08.2016 – Shin Kong Cineplex 2 – 16:20 pm

Fukushima, mon Amour by Doris Dörrie – Germany | 2016 – 102 min.

Marie, a young German woman, goes to Fukushima. She hopes to bring joy to the 2011 nuclear disaster survivors but finds herself unsuitable for the job. But instead of leaving, Marie decides to stay with Satomi, the last geisha of Fukushima. Two women who couldn‘t be more different have to learn to liberate themselves from guilt and the burden of memory.

Section: Visions

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.10.2016 – Spot Huashan Cinema A2 – 18:10 pm

Guilty by Meghna Gulzar – India | 2015 – 133 min.

Guilty is a fictional dramatization of the events revolving around the murder of Aarushi Talwar, which happened in the city near Delhi in 2008. The incident still resonates in the minds of the public, as there is no sense of closure in the case in spite of a guilty verdict – the parents of the murdered girl have been sentenced to life for killing her.

Section: Echoes

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.06.2016 – Shin Kong Cineplex 2 – 21:20 pm
07.07.2016 – Shin Kong Cineplex 2 – 13:40 pm

Ken and Kazu by Shoji Hiroshi – Japan | 2015 – 98 min.

Partners in crime Ken and Kazu use an auto repair shop to sell drugs and make money. When Ken’s girlfriend, Saki, gets pregnant, he does his best to go straight. But Kazu makes a dangerous move, and Ken comes to draw attention from a Yakuza boss. Obsession, connection and future are portrayed in the underworld drug dealings.

Section: Journeys

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.08.2016 – Shin Kong Cineplex 1 – 16:40 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)
07.10.2016 – Spot Huashan Cinema A2 – 12:50 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)
07.14.2016 – Spot Huashan Cinema A2 – 14:30 pm

Lokah Laqi! (Hang in there, kids!) by Laha Mebow – Taiwan | 2016 – 90 min.

Watan, Chen Hao and Lin Shan are three Taiwanese aboriginal boys, who grew up and live in a mountain village. Miss Lawa, a physically challenged teacher, runs an afterschool class for the kids in the tribe. She has the most beautiful voice but has stopped singing until one day Watan discovers the old demo tape Lawa recorded years ago…

Section: International New Talent Competition

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.03.2016 – Taipei Zhongshan Hall – 16:10 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)
07.11.2016 – Spot Huashan Cinema A1 – 16:50 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)

Not Burma Anymore by Wang Z.J. – Myanmar | 2016 – 70 min.

The story takes place in a small Chinese village located in northern Myanmar, where it was once the land of opium. A-Biao, a struggling young man, who has been away from Myanmar for more than a decade, gets tricked by his father into going back home and witnesses the political reform in Myanmar.

Section: International New Talent Competition

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.02.2016 – Taipei Zhongshan Hall – 14:50 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)
07.13.2016 – Spot Huashan Cinema A2 – 20:50 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)

Oyster Factory by Soda Kazuhiro – Japan, USA | 2015 – 145 min.

In the Japanese town of Ushimado, the shortage of labour is a serious problem. Traditionally, oyster shucking has been a job for local men and women, but for a few years now, some of the factories have had to use foreigners in order to keep functioning. Hirano oyster factory has never employed any outsiders but finally decides to bring in two workers from China. Will all the employees get along?

Section: Echoes

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.01.2016 – Shin Kong Cineplex 1 – 15:50 pm
07.10.2016 – Spot Huashan Cinema A1 – 19:20 pm

Paradise by Sina Ataeian Dena – Iran | 2015 – 100 min.

25-year-old Hanieh has to commute long hours to get to the suburbs where she works as a teacher at a girls’ primary school. She tries to get transferred to a school inside Tehran but this is a weary process. Increasingly exhausted by her paralysing everyday life, Hanieh struggles to find a way out of her condition but is unwittingly ignorant of the role she plays in this circle…

Section: International New Talent Competition

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.03.2016 – Taipei Zhongshan Hall – 18:50 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)
07.04.2016 – Taipei Zhongshan Hall – 11:10 am (With filmmaker’s attendance)
07.07.2016 – Spot Huashan Cinema A2 – 19:10 pm

Sand Storm by Elite Zexer – Israel | 2016 – 87 min.

In a Bedouin village in southern Israel, Jalila’s husband is marrying a second and younger wife. During the celebration, Jalila discovers her daughter Layla’s involvement with a boy. Burying the indignity of her husband and his new bride living next door, Jalila also tries to contain Layla’s situation by clamping down on her. But possessed of a boundless spirit, Layla sees a different life for herself…

Section: International New Talent Competition

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.02.2016 – Taipei Zhongshan Hall – 17:00 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)
07.05.2016 – Shin Kong Cineplex 2 – 14:10 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)

Sayonara by Fukada Koji – Japan | 2015 – 112 min.

The near future. As Japan has become contaminated with radiation, the government decides to evacuate its residents. Left behind is a South African refugee, Tanya, and her android caretaker, Leona. The two are left alone together to contemplate life and death. What separates them? What meaning does “life” and “death” carry for humans and robots, respectively?

Section: Wild Tales

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.05.2016 – Shin Kong Cineplex 1 – 18:30 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)
07.07.2016 – Spot Huashan Cinema A 2 – 16:20 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)
07.12.2016 – Spot Huashan Cinema A 1 – 20:10 pm

Ta’ang by Wang Bing – Hong Kong | 2016 – 147 min.

The TA’ANG, a Burmese ethnic minority, are caught between a civil war and the Chinese border. Since early 2015, heavy fights have forced thousands of children, women and older people on an exodus across the border into China. TA’ANG follows the daily life of these refugees, forced to leave their home but hoping to return soon.

Section: Visions

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.07.2016 – Shin Kong Cineplex 1 – 16:30 pm
07.11.2016 – Spot Huashan Cinema A2 – 19:50 pm

Tanna by Martin Butler, Bentley Dean – Australia | 2015 – 104 min.

Set in the South Pacific where Wawa, a young girl from a traditional tribe, falls in love with her chief’s grandson, Dain. When an inter-tribal war escalates, Wawa is betrothed as part of a peace deal. The young lovers must choose between their hearts and the future of the tribe. Tanna is based on a true story and performed by the people of Yakel in Vanuatu.

Section: Sensations

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.05.2016 – Taipei Zhongshan Hall – 17:00 pm
07.07.2016 – Taipei Zhongshan Hall – 19:00 pm
07.14.2016 – Shin Kong Cineplex 1 – 21:30 pm

Ten Years by Ng Ka-Leung, Kwok Zune, Kwun-wai Chow, Jevons Au, Wong Fei-Pang
Hong Kong | 2015 – 103 min.

Five shorts, which imagine what Hong Kong will be like in ten years. Five young Hong Kong directors raise questions about the most central issues concerning the city, and the audience is invited to ponder. All the stories are independent, yet at the same time, intricately related to one another, attempting to portray decisions and struggles of humanity in a dark age.

Section: Echoes

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.09.2016 – Taipei Zhongshan Hall – 16:20 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)

The Black Hen by Min Bahadur Bham – Nepal, France, Germany, Switzerland – 2015 | 90 min.

To seek their lost happiness two young boys embark their journey relentlessly, completely unaware of the tyranny brought by broken ceasefire, where they witness various unimaginable events that force them to experience anger, blame, guilt, frustration and finally hope, which is beyond their missing hen and their chance to be happy again.

Section: International New Talent Competition

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.04.2016 – Taipei Zhongshan Hall – 16:30 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)
07.06.2016 – Shin Kong Cineplex 1 – 19:00 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)
07.13.2016 – Spot Huashan Cinema A2 – 18:40 pm

The Bride by Lingo Hsieh – Taiwan | 2015 – 89 min.

TV producer Cheng-Ho is plagued by nightmares about an old mansion, and a psychic tells him that it’s the memory of his previous incarnation. High school student Yin-Yin sees ghosts but she chooses to ignore them until she is possessed by a female ghost. Cheng-Ho’s previous incarnation and Yin-Yin’s psychic power seem connected in some mysterious way.

Section: Taipei Film Awards – Narrative Features

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.11.2016 – Spot Huashan Cinema A1 – 14:10 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)

The Cat in the Closet by Tseng Ying-Ting – Taiwan | 2016 – 82 min.

The sudden death of their son prompts the couple to shut themselves up in their own worlds. The mother begins to spend more and more time feeding the stray cats on the street while the father pretends that nothing is wrong. Eight years after the incident, their daughter comes home, forcing the family to face their pain again.

Section: Taipei Film Awards – Narrative Features

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.10.2016 – Spot Huashan Cinema A1 – 13:40 pm (with filmmaker’s attendance)

The Land of the Enlightened by Pieter-Jan De Pue
Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, Afghanistan | 2016 – 87 min.

A gang of Afghan kids from the Kuchi tribe dig out old Soviet mines and sell the explosives to children working in a lapis lazuli mine. When not dreaming of the time when American troops finally withdraw from their land, another gang of children keeps tight control on the caravans smuggling the blue gemstones through the arid mountains of Pamir.

Section: Echoes

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.07.2016 – Spot Huashan Cinema A2 – 14:10 pm
07.09.2016 – Shin King Cineplex 1 – 22:20 pm
07.12.2016 – Shin Kong Cineplex 2 – 12:10 pm

The Tag-Along by Cheng Wei-Hao – Taiwan | 2015 – 93 min.

Working as an estate agent, Wei lives with his grandma. One day, his grandma has gone missing, and on the footage obtained from the surveillance camera, they spot a shadowy figure, which looks like a little girl in red following his grandma. While searching for his granny, Wei himself disappears, and his girlfriend is determined to bring him back.

Section: Taipei Film Awards – Narrative Features

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.14.2016 – Spot Huashan Cinema A1 – 13:50 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)

The Wounded Angel by Emir Baigazin – Kazakhstan, France, Germany | 2016 – 112 min.

Zharas has to feed his family. Chick is going to a singing contest. Toad looks for metal scraps to sell. Aslan is a brilliant student going to a medical college. In mid-90s in Kazakhstan, a time of a deep economical crisis, four teenagers, who will burn their wings to find a place in the tough climate of the real world.

Section: International New Talent Competition

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.01.2016 – Taipei Zhongshan Hall – 12:50 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)
07.04.2016 – Shin Kong Cineplex 2 – 21:20 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)
07.07.2016 – Spot Huashan Cinema A1 – 16:00 pm

While the women are sleeping by Wayne Wang – Japan | 2016 – 103 min.

Kenji and Aya are spending a few days at a hotel over the summer. As she pursues her work related interests, he tries to find inspiration for his new novel. A strange couple amongst the other guests awakens his curiosity. Who are the considerably older man, Sahara, and the young woman, Miki, if not father and daughter?

Section: Visions

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.01.2016 – Shin Kong Cineplex 2 – 19:20 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)

White Lies, Black Lies by Lou Yi-An – Taiwan | 2015 – 95 min.

The body of the Rainbow Salon owner’s wife is found in the basement with her throat cut open. The owner is the prime suspect, and soon he disappears. A journalist finds out that the owner has fled with his first love. What are the relationships between those involved, and who is telling the truth?

Section: Taipei Film Awards – Narrative Features

Trailer (Will open in a new window)

Schedule
07.11.2016 – Spot Huashan Cinema A1 – 19:30 pm (With filmmaker’s attendance)

For more information about the festival please visit the official website: Taipei Film Festival