The second part of Taiwan Film Festival UK will play at a Hackney independent cinema on its e-platform this winter.
Continuing on from the festival’s part one, which ran in March, film lovers can enjoy part two on the Rio Cinema’s Rio Player until mid-December.
READ MORE: Rio Cinema looks to the future as board of trustees steps downWith a central theme entitled Wounded yet Healed, the programme centres around activism and offers a Taiwanese perspective on global issues.
It will open with an online screening of The Price of Democracy, which chronicles 40 years of democratisation in Taiwan and looks back on political activism during Taiwan’s White Terror era.
The documentary tells the struggle of two octogenarian activists who have sacrificed family in their bid for freedom.
There is also a rare interview with Lam Wing-Kee, one of five booksellers detained in 2015 after selling material critical of Beijing, in the line-up.
“Being an immigrant in the UK, I’ve been regularly asked what Taiwan is,” said festival curator and filmmaker Aephie Chen.
“I had to study not only the film history of Taiwan, but also our political past. I learnt how fragile the concept of democracy is in East Asia.”
Lam, who now lives in Taiwan, will lead an online book club discussion which will screen in both English and Mandarin.
The climate crisis is another focal point for the festival.
Ocean, a non-narrative visual film on how humans have exploited marine life, will make its UK debut followed by a panel discussion with environmental activists.
Pre-recorded interviews with directors, live Q&A sessions and live art performances will further complement the screenings.
“I hope more people in the UK become familiar with Taiwanese cinema through our programmes,” said Aephie. “And I hope we can bridge financing to do coproductions in the near future, so we can share the passion of making films together.”
Taiwan Film Festival UK will kick off online on the Rio Player on November 28.
Subsequent films will play in socially-distanced screenings over the next two weekends, if lockdown regulations permit after December 2. The festival runs until December 12.
Book tickets through the Rio Cinema’s website.
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