The Taiwan Film Festival of Boston (TFFB) will kick off on October 2, presenting nine films online and in theaters under this year’s special theme, “Bittersweet.” TFFC hopes that, given everyone’s own unique experiences in dealing with both the good times and bad times in life, the audience can relate to the protagonists in this year’s selection and fall in love with the unique taste of Taiwanese movies.
The festival will celebrate its 3rd edition with a 12-hour movie marathon on the very first day, screening 4 features and 2 shorts at AMC Boston Common 19. The opening film is André & His Olive Tree (初心), documenting the final few weeks before Taiwanese chef André Chiang closed his two Michelin star “Restaurant André” in Singapore, as well as his own emotional journey of self-reflection.
Other works include My Missing Valentine (消失的情人節), a romantic comedy tenderly solving the mystery of why the protagonist wakes up after Valentine's Day with no memory of the last 24 hours; Dear Tenant (親愛的房客), a family drama exploring the limits of unconditional love and the judgment and misunderstanding society still exhibits towards homosexuality; The Great Buddha+ (大佛普拉斯), a surreal satire sharply taking on issues of social class and injustice; as well as My Way (魚路) and Ms. Lin - The Retouching Lady (修片林小姐), two award-winning documentary shorts.
From October 3-5, the festival will play three different films online, including Heavy Craving (大餓), a heartwarming comedy drama about a woman compelled to lose weight in order to meet built-in societal expectations; Turning 18 (未來無恙), a coming-of-age documentary centered around two girls’ struggles from growing up in disadvantaged families; and See You White House (再會啦白宮), a documentary digging up the past of a mysterious building located in Taiwan’s Yunlin County, where the U.S. Navy conducted medical research more than 50 years ago.
TFFB will also arrange four Q&As with director Ho Chao-ti (賀照緹) of Turning 18, director Hsieh Pei-ju (謝沛如) of Heavy Craving, director Cheng Yu-Chieh (鄭有傑) of Dear Tenant, and director Josiah Ng (黃程瀚) of André & His Olive Tree, sharing their behind-the-scenes experiences from October 5-8. For more information, please visit TFFB’s official website: https://taiwanfilmfest.org.