The shortlist of 2020
Taipei Film Festival “International New Talent Competition” was announced on
May 15. There are 412 entries this year, and the 12 shortlisted works come from
Taiwan, China, Japan, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Germany, Belgium, Kosovo,
Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Peru, Spain, the U.S., Lesotho,
South Africa, Italy, Denmark, Uruguay, the Netherlands and the
Philippines; 2 of them will have their
world premieres and 4 of them their Asian premieres at the Festival. These
works will compete for the Grand Prize
(NT$600,000) and the Special Jury Prize (NT$300,000). The competition results are scheduled to be announced on
June 30.
“International
New Talent Competition” is Taiwan’s only international competition for feature
films. In addressing international film aesthetic forms and issues, Taipei Film
Festival proposes Taiwan-specific perspectives from the angle of an Asian film
festival. Among the shortlisted films, The Painting of Evil by
emerging Taiwanese filmmaker CHEN Yung-chi features the leading actor River HUANG who has won Best Actor
at the Festival, and stars TUNG Ming-hsiang and Esther LIU. With a
random killer as the thread, art is weighed against morality through a talented
prisoner and his unforgivable crimes. Another selected film, Leaving
Virginia by LIN Li-shu, is an absurd teen sex comedy, featuring
audacious performances by Peggy TSENG and emerging actors from Hong Kong and
Taiwan. With battering nonsense and politically incorrect speeches, along with
illustration, graffiti and live-streamed images, it realistically represents
the folly of spoiled brats from a new generation.
The
shortlisted foreign works this year are overwhelming. Several directorial
debuts have already won awards at other film festivals, including This
Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection by Lemohang Jeremiah MOSESE which
won an award at the Sundance Film Festival. With Lesotho in Africa as the
backdrop, the story depicts how the forced displacement due to a reservoir
construction by the government radically changes people’s harmonious and
self-sufficient lives overnight, and forces them into the fate of collective
wandering.
Ainu
Mosir by FUKUNAGA Takeshi
which just took home Special Jury Mention at the Tribeca Film Festival features amateur
actors from the indigenous Ainu group in Japan, plus the surprising cameo
appearance of Lily Franky. The story focuses on an Ainu boy facing his
motherland and his self-exploration, as well as Ainu people’s profound bond
with their pals of the past and the present.
ZHENG
LU Xinyuan’s first feature film The Cloud in Her Room recently
won the Tiger Award at the International
Film Festival Rotterdam. Revolving around female psychology, the film’s
linear narrative is interspersed with souvenirs and fantasy. Diverse visual
media are employed in such a way to capture post-teen agitation, with the charm
of images being explored to the full.
Danish emerging
director Frelle PETERSEN took home the Tokyo Grand Prix of the Tokyo International Film Festival with his film Uncle.
Featuring an uncle and his niece who depend on each other, the story relates
how a gently arising romance leads to contradictions between them, depicting
the current situations of villages around the world, and the choice of leaving
the homeland faced by the younger generation.
Other shortlisted
works include Scales by Shahad AMEEN, an Arab female
director, which was awarded in “International
Critics' Week” at the Venice Film Festival. In this film, ancient
mermaid legends are transformed into a magical secular fable, silently yet
straightforwardly accusing the brutal patriarchal structure of the Arab world.
The
Impressionism style is the axis of The Metamorphosis of Birds by
Portuguese director Catarina VASCONCELOS which won FIPRESCI Award for Best Film of the “Encounters” section
of the Berlin Film Festival. the lost remembrance of family members from
the father’s generation are elaborated through family objects, original
soundtracks recorded by the filmmaker, and reconstruction based on theatrical
performance.
Song
Without a Name by Peruvian director
Melina LEÓN which explores the history of the country was selected into “Directors' Fortnight” of the Cannes Film
Festival in 2019. The film reveals a mysterious history of modern Peru. The
black and white cinematography depicts how people live with loss and jointly
seek a way out in facing violent terrorism, dysfunctional police bureaucracy,
and being in an uncanny and unknown environment.
The Inviolability of The Domicile Is Based on The Man Who
Appears Wielding an Axe at the Door of His House, a short film by Uruguayan
director Alex PIPERNO, has been screened at 2018 Taipei Film Festival. This
year, the filmmaker presents his first feature film, Window Boy Would
Also Like to Have a Submarine, adapted from his sailing experience a decade
ago. The director connects various worlds with a cruise traversing the city and
the country, mountains and the ocean, as well as the traditional and the
modern, thus opening the gate to secular fantasy.
In
addition to the two official awards, an Audience Choice Award will be bestowed
to the most popular film among the audience. Plus, echoing the spirit of
encouraging emerging filmmakers, “International New Talent Competition” this
year collaborates with Taiwan Film Critics
Society once again. Members of the Society were invited to watch
all the selected films with the official jury, and selected the winner of Taiwan Film Critics Association Award in
expectation to show a perspective differing from that of the jury. For more
details about “International New Talent Competition”, please check Taipei Film
Festival’s official website (https://www.taipeiff.taipei).
2020 Taipei Film
Festival’s International New Talent Competition line-up
Ainu
Mosir,
dir. FUKUNAGA Takeshi, 2020 Japan, USA, China
The
Cloud in Her Room,
dir. ZHENG LU Xinyuan, 2020 Hong Kong, China
Desterro, dir. Maria
Clara ESCOBAR, 2020 Brazil, Portugal, Argentina
Exile, dir. Visar MORINA,
2020 Germany, Belgium, Kosovo
Leaving
Virginia,
dir. LIN Li-shu, 2020 Taiwan
The
Metamorphosis of Birds, dir.
Catarina VASCONCELOS, 2020 Portugal
The
Painting of Evil, dir.
CHEN Yung-chi, 2020 Taiwan
Scales, dir. Shahad AMEEN,
2019 UAE, Iraq, Saudi Arabia
Song
Without a Name,
dir. Melina LEÓN, 2019 Peru, Spain, USA
This
Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection, dir. Lemohang Jeremiah MOSESE,
2019 Lesotho, South Africa and Italy
Uncle, dir. Frelle
PETERSEN, 2019 Denmark
Window
Boy Would Also Like to Have a Submarine, dir. Alex PIPERNO, 2020
Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Netherland, Philippines