The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), ranked among the top 50 film festivals worldwide, will run from May 9 to 19, 2024. The Taiwanese film lineup includes “A Journey in Spring” and “Is This Now the Time I Should Let You Go?” which are respectively selected for the festival's New Directors and Short Films competition. Additionally, the lineup also features the films "Pigsy" and “Dragon Superman."
“A Journey in Spring,” the debut feature from directing duo Wang Ping-Wen and Peng Tzu-Hui, earned the Best Director award at the 71st San Sebastian Festival in 2023 and secured the spot on the shortlist for the New Directors and New Films Festival in 2024. This film, presented entirely in Taiwanese Hokkien, strikingly reveals an old man’s reluctance to grapple with the overwhelming grief of his wife’s sudden death by preserving his wife’s physique to cope with loss and past regrets. This compelling film will compete in the New Directors Competition at SIFF and will be followed by a Q&A session with directors. Also featured in the lineup is the animated documentary short “Is This Now the Time I Should Let You Go?” which depicts a daughter’s loss of her father. This film was also a selection for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival Asia.
The Seattle International Film Festival is celebrating its 50th anniversary and will present a grand total of 261 films from 84 countries and regions around the globe. Apart from the selections in competition, the Taiwan Academy of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles, in collaboration with the Seattle International Film Festival, will present two more Taiwanese films, "Pigsy" and “Dragon Superman."
”Pigsy," an animated reimagination of the classic Chinese tale “Journey to the West,” unfolds in a cyberpunk science fiction setting. The story follows Pigsy as he embarks on a deceitful quest for a better life, only to find that true happiness may be closer than he thinks. Meanwhile, the classic film “Dragon Superman,” entirely in Taiwanese Hokkien, is an exhilarating story highlighting the protagonist, a humble reporter, putting on a blindfolded costume akin to Robin at “The Batman” and transforming into Dragon Superman, who protects citizens and fights against evil villains.
For Taiwanese films, please visit
https://www.siff.net/festival/programs-2024/asian-crossroads & https://www.siff.net/festival/animation4adults-x37507