Discoveries from Taiwan World Cinema

The Land in the Middle of the Pond makes reference to the 1950’s forced displacement of the Atayal Qara community from their ancestral territory for the construction of the Shimen Reservoir – now the main water supply for Northern Taiwan. Throughout the video, we hear the voice of an elder who recalls the events which resulted in the forced displacement of her community and the impact of diaspora. In the video we see Ciwas tracing veins that run along her limbs like rivers. During the performance, later Ciwas and other Atayal women engage in an Atayal name exchange ritual, between person and plant. This customary ritual Ciwas employs like the tracing of her bloodline at the reservoir, as a symbolic act for reconnecting with her ancestral land while affirming her identity past, present and future.

In a cozy burrow, the mole and his daughter reside. The mole often peers through a narrow window, gazing at the boundless sky, dreaming of the world beyond. Though he longs to venture out with his daughter, his fear of sunlight keeps him confined. How can he overcome this and explore the vast, beautiful world?

During the Chinese Civil War, Taiwan was seen as the terminal destination for a unit fleeing themainland. However, while crossing the Sino-Vietnamese border, they were detained on an islandcalled “Phú Quốc” by the French authorities, who were colonizing Vietnam at that time. Unawareof how long this temporary detention would last, they began transforming this primitive island into abase for a future counterattack on the mainland. Four years later, they finally managed to sail to Tai-wan — an island they had never been to but regarded as their homeland. Years later, in Kaohsiung’s Chengcing Lake, there is also an artificial island named “Phú Quốc” built to commemorate this unit,effectively becoming Phú Quốc 2.0.

The director’s relationship with their mother was severed in the past due to their sexual orientation. In 2023, after the mother was diagnosed with cancer, the two reconnected. Through intimate moments with their partner, the director contrasts the closeness of their relationship with the emotional distance from their family. Struggling with both their identity as a queer person and as a daughter, the director uses the metaphor of a "Viewfinder" to capture the complex emotions between them.

The body serves as a vessel that stores self-awareness.

Xiaonan does not like smelly or messy places, but he is willing to brave his aunt’s chicken hatchery to make sure his egg friend Silly Head hatches.

The Accidental Politician is a ten-year documentary journey following three young Taiwanese activists who emerged from the 2014 “Sunflower Movement” and stepped into the complex world of local politics. Fueled by ideals but confronted with entrenched power, political deals, and disillusionment, their stories unfold like real-life quests through Taiwan’s democratic landscape. As they struggle between hope and burnout, the film reveals not only the cost of participation, but the unfinished nature of democracy itself. With the 2024 “Bluebird Movement” weaving the past into the present, this is not just a portrait of three individuals—it’s a timely reflection on the fragile, ongoing experiment of democracy in Asia.

A road home from work stretches from the bustling city alleys to a desolate industrial road, passing through a railway crossing along the way. As I cross the tracks, the thick fog rolling in makes me contemplate the end of life and a deep reverence for the living beings of nature.

A bold and crazy director, an extraordinary photographer, two vocational film students decided to use real Titan monsters to shoot in order to complete their final project film...

Chia-Wei Hsu's video engages with the history of a tiny island off the coast of Matsu, which is situated in the Taiwan Strait. The island is under the commandment of a local god called the " Marshal Tie Jia," a frog deity. This deity originated from a temple on Wu-Yi Mountain in China, which was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution when the deity migrated to Matsu. In Hsu's work, the island is used as a stage. Employing the cinematographic device of the "green screen" - a generic background replaced in the post-production process with any other background image - Hsu places a fictional version of the original tiny temple on the island, which has long since been replaced by a dilapidated bunker.

An empty amusement park on a cloudy afternoon emerges on the screen. A castle reminiscent of Disneyland looms in the background. The amusement park seems closed; trees swaying and advertising flags gently flowing in the wind, litter blowing and rolling on the ground, and birds lingering in the air. The calm lasts for about a minute before the amusement park goes up in a sudden explosion

Besides exploring complex student relationships, family dynamics, and gender-based violence, the film reflects the director’s perspective as a teacher, subtly expressing anxiety and lament over the loss of innocence in the harsh realities of modern youth.

A 1959 film in Taiwanese Hokkien, featuring Koa-á-hì (traditional Taiwanese opera).

Wildlife rescue work often involves racing against time. At the WildOne Wildlife Rescue Station in Chishang, Taitung, many wild animals, big and small, flood in as soon as the breeding season begins in spring and summer. Many injured animals, frightened and stressed, may even refuse to eat. Treating and caring are challenging to the veterinarians and rehabilitators. Despite the effort invested in their care, they must restrain their emotions to avoid the animals becoming familiar with humans. And sometimes, after extensive care, if releasing them back into the wild isn’t possible, euthanasia may be necessary for the sake of the animal's good. The film Journey Bound Home documents the journey at the WildOne Wildlife Rescue Station, from receiving injured wildlife to determining if they can ultimately be released back into their natural habitats.

My first living space after I was born, located in an old street. This old apartment has a long shape and a river on the back. the world outside changed as time goes by, the house gathered the smell of life. A small cloud visits the space and goes through it. Time and memory became like a dream in a daylight.

Electrifying stories of intertwining relationships.

In the stickmen's world, one matchstick figure finds himself at odds with the seemingly inevitable cycle of burning. Unable to ignite like others, he struggles to find his place until discovering his own secret to shining.

The film depicts the lives of elderly people living in a nursing home: their agony, longing and loneliness. Through the visuals of the film, they gradually illustrate a painting of their life. Love is after all an everlasting treasure intertwined in bittersweet sorrow. Caught in the space between dream and reality, images of wintry Taipei, with its drizzling rain, and the gloomy sky reflect fading minds of these aged women.

An unknown disease is striking to younger generation, the patients are going to lose the sense of reality and the memory of themself. We following a girl who got her new name 'OK' and she is going to figure out what's going on.

An award-winning documentary short by Taiwan Film Studio in 1964.

On 1st July 2022, as Hong Kong marks the 25th anniversary of its handover, tropical storm Chaba lashes the city. Cyclone captures the resilience and vibrancy of Hong Kong people as they navigate the day amidst historical significance and natural upheaval.

A lonely middle-aged man, Mr. Lin, encounters a woman at the laundromat. The subtle and ambiguous connection between them stirs up ripples in Mr. Lin’s otherwise mundane life.

In the second year of high school, Pei and her neighboring classmate Wen were inseparable, their bond deepening with each passing day, as if transcending the bounds of mere friendship. In the tender bloom of youth, Pei embarked on a heartfelt journey of self-discovery and quest for belonging, seeking the answers her heart yearned for.

Explores the body's preservation of past trauma through the folklore of Sister Lin-Tou. Viewers enter an in-between realm where Lin-Tou's vast form houses an entire universe, suggesting trauma remains despite healing.

Literature and tales of the military dependents' villages leave a unique and precious character in Taiwanese history since the Great Retreat in 1949. The people have gradually formed a culture within the villages. To dive into the richness of military dependents' villages, the film interviews many prominent Taiwanese writers who grew up in the first and second generation of military dependents' villages and quotes extensively from literary passages, creating the reappearance of the unforgettable lives in the villages and of the cultures of Waishengren.

A short film.

When fishing at sea, he always glimpses Guishan Island. Childhood memories and the villagers' distinct qualities were buried there during the village’s relocation. 'Now, we hide our homesickness in dreams'. Witnessing the island's tourism deeply affects displaced islanders.

Green Island's link to political prisoners remains indelible despite its modern tourism. To depict the multi-faceted appearance of the island, the film centres on 3 characters: a local islander, a former prisoner’s daughter, and an artist with depression.

This experimental animation made out of multi-techniques, to explore the new possibilities of mixing the stop motion and computer graphic images in animation making.

Seven frames, seven episodes of one visual journey. A silent film explores the space between language, body and identity during the time of isolation. It is the second film from photographer / mixed-media artist turned Shantel Liao, and the first film made completely independently as a personal project.