Discoveries from Taiwan World Cinema

A mixture of Acupuncture and Kung Fu

Yi-nuo (7) and Cheng-en (10) are inseparable orphans who promised to be brothers forever. But when Yi-nuo is adopted and taken abroad, Cheng-en is left behind due to family complications. Refusing to let go, the precocious Yi-nuo begins a campaign to “sell” his best friend to his new adoptive parents. It’s a heartwarming story about a little boy trying to reunite with his “brother” against all odds.

Model Fable encounters his cheating partner Nova just as Ivy's fashion show is about to begin. The fear of being exposed keeps him tossing and turning at night, but his deepest fear isn’t infidelity itself; it’s the hidden kinks and pleasures lurking within their hearts. Unable to resist his desires, Fable finds himself back in Nova's embrace, while his straight girlfriend, Chun-Ning, has already heard something from Ivy...

A dying forest flared up and the flavor of damp ruin, settled in on the tongue: Tsai Ming Liang created an entirely novel artwork with his tenth feature film 'Stray Dogs' at the Museum MoNTUE. Moving images eclipsed, in slivers and swathes, by immovable shadows of deadwood. Waking, sleep and everything in between proved indistinguishable. This documentary recreates elements of existential banality (on view) and guides focus inward. It establishes a firm, if converse, analog between cinema and consciousness: an interplay of movie (and its constituent elements of light, shadow and audience) mirrored in consciousness (and its building blocks of waking, sleep and dream) if you will.

A motorcycle gang wants to start a revolution. They ultimately succeed, but they also fail at the same time.

A train rolled into Tamsui, a charming harbour town full of historical and cultural complexity. European-style architecture tells its colonial past, while Fujianese immigrants' influence stays present in local people's everyday life. Celebrated photographer and cinematographer CHANG Chao-tang captured Tamsui in the 1970s on film, creating a nostalgic yet melancholic concerto played by missionaries, fishermen, and tourists.

Grandma Qiu-tao, now 70 years old and still a pushover, is arrested for owing millions in taxes from her family’s wholesale crystal business. Upon posting bail, Qiu-tao investigates and discovers that her husband, CHEN Zong-long, has taken advantage of the opportunity to empty the store’s crystals and disappear without a trace. Left to handle the massive tax debt and court case alone, she later finds out that he has started a new company with a “close female friend.” The mild-mannered, hard-working and honest Qiu-tao reaches her breaking point. She calls upon her two former prison friends from a previous stint 40 years ago — Yue-jiao (75) and A-zu (61) — to help her. Determined to seek justice against her irresponsible husband, the three grandmas, each with contrasting personalities, reunite. They prepare for an outrageous and daring heist to reclaim the precious crystal geodes that CHEN Zong-long stole.

A Taiwanese language film. King Ruilang returned to the palace after going hunting. He sees the princess having an affair with another man and stabs them to death in anger. Since then, he has hated all the women in the world. Every day he chooses a beauty to be queen only for one night before killing them. This has led women being scared all over the country.

The Seediq tribe (Takasago in Japanese) of Taiwan is famous for its head-hunting rituals. A Chinese dignitary from Fujian, Wu Fong (1699-1766), tries to persuade the tribe to cease the rituals.

Six vibrant youth, meet to a play area to play, Shihong and jade family as a loving couple, two people say ** for the introduction of male and female colleagues, so they were matched Di, Ami, Xiaobo and Achi , Six people in the park to play very happy, who knows the park leader Liting is a mental abnormality, six young people were killed in the game, the original pleasant journey has become a terrible tragedy.

Today is A-Wei’s last day, but it’s her first day with Ching.

In 2021, an orchestrated coup d’état in Myanmar shuts down the country. Gao Gao, who can no longer go to school, spends his days with his friends in the village, passing the time by playing with toy guns, going through life as if nothing has changed despite the unrest around him.

One night, Che was having dinner with his mom as usual, but all of a sudden, Che's mom took out Che's secret magazine out of nowhere and started questioning Che about the magazine. However, Mom's question was interrupted when Chun-Hao, Che's best friend came to visit and joined their dinner unexpectedly. How will Chun-Hao's unexpected visit affect the intense situation between Che and his mom?

In the table that symbolizes the value of traditional women, a woman who wants to break free from her family must face her daughter.

Six dads of terminally ill children form a rock band called "Sleepy Dads". With an average age of 52, they aim to to hit the stage of the highly competititve Sea Music Festival. For this old, amateur band, it is as difficult as the Apollo missions to the moon. Nonetheless, these fathers show no fear because they already lead their daily lives on the edge.

A girl, Ping, faces conflict with her girlfriend Lala’s homophobic and aggressive father, The Man. As tensions escalate, Ping is forced to take drastic action to save herself and kills The Man.

Chiang Ching won the Golden Horse for her performance.

Lonely and closeted, Xiao-Wei turns to the internet—until real-life feelings bring more questions than answers.

taiwan films

The history of THNG Tek-chiong family not only reflects the confusion and the pursuit of Taiwanese identity over generations, but also serves as a cautionary tale for the people living in Taiwan.

A sequel to the first Fist of the North Star movie.

A spy story on woman island.

The Taiwanese Hokkien film released in 1959

"I'm interested in the topic of homeless people and… there are a lot of things in this world that do not make sense." – Singing Chen Bundled is activist filmmaker Singing Chen's fiction/verite reflection on homelessness in Taiwan.

A-Lin Sonar World Tour Concert Live 2016

The film explores Lin Hai-yin’s unique perspective of having “two homelands,” narrated by her daughter Julie Chang. It highlights her life, work as an editor, and her role in overcoming censorship. Lin Hai-yin’s novels, known for their inclusiveness, remain a shared memory for cross-strait readers. She was a friend to writers and a courageous mother, nurturing Taiwanese literature post-war. As editor of the United Daily News, she supported writers like Lin Hwai-min and founded the Belles-Lettres Publishing House. Her living room was a literary hub, and she is fondly remembered as “Ms. Lin Hai-yin.” Her novel Memories of Peking: South Side Stories was published in 1960.

An old camera borrowed from a friend. It's enough to be carried in pocket. Since that day, I can forget to take wallet out, but I can't forget it. We get along day and night, work, eat, hang out and meet friends every time. And, there are also every passenger photographed by it.

The film begins with the discovery of a mysterious female corpse along the coast of Taiwan. Adorned in provocative lingerie and tattoos, her colorful nails stand out against her swollen and unrecognizable face. As the police delve into her identity, the intertwined stories of two girls emerge.

Moving story about a lonely man who finds solace and company in his pet fish.

Taiwan movie

Laura reconnects her ex-girlfriend Hattie to make up for their broken relationship, which ends up awakening their remaining passion while the trust cannot be rebuilt.

In the Hive, love blooms amidst a brutal struggle for survival. Ian and Lily face Monsters and perils to escape, with their fate intertwined with a sacrifice that challenges the depths of their love and haunts their journey forever.

Yu-Yin is a math teacher in a junior high school, She plays a very important role in both her students and her family's lives. However she receives the trickiest question in life just when she was about to go on a relaxing trip. Jun-ho, an adolescent boy in 9th grade, is going through the chaos of his parents divorce and the great pressure of going to high school. With a perfect coincidence, The two desperate souls met in a gas station at midnight. They were going to look at the cows at first, but then a very heart to heart conversation began while they walked into the night. The night is still dark and full of unknown incidents, a life that is stuck may be stuck forever, but with warm company, we might regain the courage once more...

In the late 1990s, young Yixuan grows up as a “latchkey kid” in Wanhua, Taipei. With his father busy driving a taxi, Yixuan spends lonely afternoons wandering local diners and Youth Park. In the park, he meets Liu Bin, a lonely chess master. Yixuan finds guidance and warmth in his new teacher, who challenges him to daily matches with a small wager. This bond bridges generations, revealing how love can emerge in unexpected places and how life, much like chess, unfolds in unpredictable ways.

On Valentine’s Day, two long-time girlfriends meet in a cafe. One of them dominates the conversation as the other silently listens. As we learn about their stories, their joys and sorrows, tension slowly escalates between the young women, until the truth comes out in the end. Who has the upper hand in this female friendship? Adapted from Swedish playwright August STRINDBERG’s 1889 one-act play The Stronger (Den starkare), the short explores the age-old theme of female agency in contemporary Taiwan, accompanied by Valentine vignettes of the other young people in the cafe.

Sweet Home. A Taiwan film by CMPC.

Taiwanese social worker Jia Jia is assigned to gather a football team of foreign workers. Ali, a former football player in his homeland of Indonesia, is forced to work abroad in Taiwan to pay off his loan after getting injured. Due to a series of unfortunate incidents and discrimination from his supervisor, Ali reluctantly becomes an illegal worker. Joining the Foreign Workers’ Football Union rekindles Ali’s enthusiasm. The team plays better and better, while romance grows between Ali and Jia Jia. But then Ali’s illegal identity is exposed, and he is set up for a murder by an unscrupulous Taiwanese foreman. As Ali leads the foreign workers football team into the finals, a group of police arrives the stadium…

The expressions of democratization are usually interpreted by elites from two different parties but neglect the real faces/ life of every individual among the resistance rally. The director (a confused twenty-something) looks back upon the 40-year-history of democratization of Taiwan through the life experiences of two old-timers (who are grass-root rebels). He attempts to discover what causes their actions and decisions to be lefties, and what are their limitations.

A young nurse meets a tourist from Hong Kong at Angkor Wat, and they fall in love. Later, they encounter each other again, with the nurse in the Cambodian Army and the tourist as a war reporter.

With graduation just around the corner, Lily Chen, who's dreaming of becoming a novelist, is working hard to beat procrastination. As she juggles between reality and her dreams, the big question is: can she finish her novel and step confidently into the next phase of her life?

Wang Wen-xin, a revered novelist, is known for his deep appreciation of words and slow, deliberate writing style. He co-founded the literary magazine Modern Literature with classmates from National Taiwan University. His notable work, “Family Catastrophe,” published in 1973, was praised for its innovative language and realistic portrayal of interpersonal relationships. Another significant work, “Backed against the Sea,” took 25 years to complete and is celebrated for its modernist beauty. Wang is currently working on a new book, though its release date is unconfirmed.

This film is about instinctive solitude. At a bus stop after a rain, a boy becomes fascinated by the fragility and madness of a girl.

Taiwan movie

Late at night, Kurt sees an old claw machine, on which a big headline reads “Collect all the seven-colored capsule toys, the mysterious prize will come.” After he comes to challenge and collects all the capsules, an unexpected “Prize” befalls him.

Ko, a young gay writer living in Taipei has written a story about his homosexuality, and his teacher encourages him to enter it in a prestigious writing competition. Now Ko must decide whether to enter the competition or stay in the closet

Martians warn that they will destroy the earth due to mans nuclear testing in space. When they begin to attack Hong Kong and weapons of science are proven useless against them, a mans statue of the god Guan Yu comes to life and fights the Martians.

“My birthday with God” tells the story of a young boy yearning for attention and understanding on a day that holds deep personal significance—his birthday.