A grand selection of five feature films and two short films from Taiwan will be screened at the upcoming Hawaii International Film Festival, in which military drama "Paradise in Service” (軍中樂園) has been shortlisted for the prestigious Halekulani Golden Orchid Awards.
"Paradise in Service” is the latest release from director Doze Niu, whose previous productions include the award-winning 2010 gangster flick "Monga” (艋舺) and 2012 romance comedy "Love” (愛). In "Paradise in Service,” we see actor Ethan Juanreturn to the screen as a greenhorn novice whose great misfortunate in the mandatory military draft has led him to be deployed to government-sanctioned brothels on the perilous outlying Kinmen Island.
According to the festival organizers, the military drama was picked as a potential candidate for the Halekulani Golden Orchid Awards because of its historic focus on the military tensions across the Taiwan Strait, the poignant stirrings of first love, and the devote pursuit of cinematic aesthetics in a commercial production.
Under a special program titled Spotlight on Taiwan, the four other Taiwanese feature films that will be screened in Hawaii during November include baseball epic "KANO,” B&W sequel "Black and White: The Dawn of Justice 3D” (痞子英雄：黎明再起3D), coming-of-age story "Meeting Dr. Sun” (行動代號：孫中山), and murder thriller "Partners in Crime” (共犯).
Also noteworthy are the shorts "Doppelganger” (殮財) and "The Busy Young Psychic” (神算). The former, a black comedy about stealing gold fillings from the dead, will be aired as part of the Dark Wave screening night on Oct. 31, while the latter, about an aspiring female basketball player who is burdened by her eerily accurate psychic abilities, will be screened in the Turning Point section on Oct. 30.
The film festival will first be held from Oct. 30 to Nov. 9 on Oahu, and then from Nov. 13 to 16 on Big Island and Kauai, while the winners of the Halekulani Golden Orchid will be announced on Nov. 4.