“Snow in September” by Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir, “Branded to Kill” by Suzuki Seijun, and “The Man Who Couldn’t Leave” by Singing Chen were awarded at the 79th Venice International Film Festival (August 31 – September 10, 2022)

Orizzonti Award for Best Short Films

Davka is a teenager who lives in the decaying Soviet buildings in Ulaanbaatar. With his classmate, Anuka, they talk about manga and tease each other about sex. When Davka encounters an older woman, his ideas about intimacy and his view of relationships are forced to change. (LaBiennale 2022)

Venice Short Films Nomination for the European Film Awards 2022

Venice Classics Award for Best Restored Film

Goro Hanada is a professional hitman, ranked No.3. One day, Hanada was attacked by No.2 and No.4 hitmen on the way to the destination escorting an elite member of a certain syndicate. They make it through the deadly gauntlet, and Hanada delivers the mysterious man safely. Some time later, Hanada receives another assassination assignment. As the last target must be neutralized at all costs, so a female emissary named Misako was sent to accompany Hanada. But Hanada fails to complete the mission, and in turn becomes a marked man wanted dead by the syndicate. She has also been instructed to execute Hanada, but discovers her newfound fascination for him renders her unable to end his life. Troubled by their destiny as killers, they seek solace in each other’s arms. However, Misako’s unwillingness to slay Hanada results in her being taking prisoner by the syndicate. To save Misako, Hanada engages in a fierce battle to the death for the title of No.1. (LaBiennale 2022)

Venice Immersive Best Experience

Within the walls of the former Green Island prison, political detainee A-Kuen, tells the stories of imprisonment and persecution happened in the 1950s in Taiwan. Among fellow inmates, frozen in time, he recounts his own experiences and those of his friend, A-Ching, who never made it out. Experience the time and place, and the waiting, in hope, for a chance to keep the stories alive.

The Man Who Couldn’t Leave integrates the stories of numerous political victims of the White Terror and told through the form of an undelivered family letter. An immersive VR experience of hope, fear and camaraderie. (LaBiennale 2022)