The award-winning Taiwanese films Cities of Last Things and Long Time No Sea have been nominated for International Narrative Feature Competition in the 35th Los Angeles Pacific Film Festival. Taiwanese films once again shine at the largest Asian American film festival in Southern California. These two films will be screening in the evening on Monday, May 6 at Regal LA Live (Theater 12). Wi-Ding Ho, the Director of Cities of Last Things, will join the post-screening discussion in person.
Cities of Last Things is a new film by Golden Horse Award winning director Wi-Ding Ho, who also directed Pinoy Sunday. This film opens with the protagonist Dong-Ling Zhang’s suicide and depicts three traumatic events during different eras in reverse chronological order. Zhang’s life is full of uncertainty and irony, and his happiness is often temporary and illusional. His turbulent personal life eventually leads to the fateful decision.
Cities of Last Things has won many international awards, including Golden Horse. Last year, it also won the Platform Prize at Toronto International Film Festival and Ho was the first ethnic Chinese director in history to receive the honor. This film was also the winner in Festival International du Film Policier de Beaune and Special Mention Award in Brussels International Fantasy, Fantastic, Thriller and Science Fiction Film Festival.
Long Time No Sea is a documentary directed by Heather Tsui based on her life experiences. It depicts a teacher who just arrived the Orchid Island from the city, undertaking the challenge to coach the indigenous Tao students for a national aboriginal dance competition. During the preparation, Tao students transform from refusing to wear traditional costume to rediscovering and embracing their sense of identity. This film showcases not only the beauty but social issues of this remote island, such as scarce educational resources and grandparenting challenges. This film is hailed as “the most Orchid Islandic movie in Taiwan history.” The young star Jia-Jin Zhong, who plays as a leading Tao boy, won the Golden Horse Best New Performer Award for his sincere acting.
Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles indicates that, except for the above two films, five other unique Taiwanese short films will be screening from May 5 to May 7. Featured films include Mama Pingpong Social Club- a vampire-themed film about a strangely violent and humorous journey of a lonely middle-aged mom looking for new focus in life; I Can’t Bring You Away- an animation about leaving the past behind and surpassing oneself; The Visit- a ghost story based on rural legends; Merry-Go-Round- a heartwarming piece about finding a lost girl at an amusement park; Gentlemen SPA- a LGBT film about finding true love. All seven films will be screening in the “Spotlight on Taiwan” session, which Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles has been coordinating with the Festival since 2012.
This year, 24 Asian Pacific and Asian American directors and 200 feature-length films are competing for the awards in the Festival. The most renowned award category in this festival is “The Golden Reel Award” for short films. Recipients of this Award will be eligible for considerations of the Academy Awards. Over the past years, Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles has been coordinating the “Spotlight on Taiwan” screening as a stage for Taiwanese directors to showcase their artwork and continuously promote Taiwanese culture to the local audience.
Press Contact:
Ivy Tseng
Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles
+1-323-369-6710
fatimatseng@gmail.com