Taiwanese film makes a remarkable achievement in the world again! Four Taiwanese films are selected in this year’s Seattle International Film Festival, opening this Thursday, May 16th. The lineup includes the well-recognized Long Time No Sea, Cities of Last Things, A Family Tour, and Gatao 2: Rise of the King. Among the four, Long Time No Sea is nominated for New Directors Competition Award, and the leading actor, Jia-Jin Zhong, will attend the screenings on June 6th and June 8th.
Under the facilitation of Ministry of Culture, Taiwan and Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles, Taiwanese film at the Seattle International Film Festival this year is richer than previous years, and there will be 11 screenings in total for the 4 Taiwanese films. Long Time No Sea is a documentary directed by Heather Tsui based on true story, depicting a teacher who just arrived the Orchid Island from the city. He volunteered to serve as the instructor of indigenous Tao students for a traditional dance competition and taught the children of Dawu to regain their identity of traditional cultures. The film touches on social issues in the island, such as the scarce education resources and the granparenting challenges. This film is hailed as “the most Orchid Islnadic movie” in Taiwan history. The young star Jia-Jin Zhong, who plays the leading role as Tao boy, won the Golden Horse Best New Performer Award for his sincere acting.
Cities of Last Thing is the latest work of the Golden Horse award winning director, Wi Ding Ho. The film uses three stages of flashbacks, depicting stories of the leading role in the past, now, and the future, from which the audience was able to piece together the sweet and bitter of life. The presence of the word “happiness” in this movie’s Chinese title, ironically presented how rare and fragile happiness is. Since its release, Cities of Last Thing has been recognized by various international film festivals, such as the Platform Prize at Toronto International Film Festival, the Jury Prize for International Beaune Police Film Festival, and Special Mention Award for Brussels International Fantast Fantastic, Thriller and Science Fiction film Festival.
Director Ying Liang’s semi-autobiographical film A Family Tour, shot from an exile’s point of view, discusses the process of pursuing freedom in an unfree status from an emotional and aesthetic perspective, as well as the strong attempt of the director who tries to establish social connections and communicate with people. Gatao 2: Rise of the King is a Taiwanese gangster movie directed by Yen-Cheng Kuo. Although it is a sequel of Gotao 1, it has an independent storyline so audience can enjoy the movie without seeing the first episode.
The Seattle international film festival is one of the largest and most attended film festivals in the United States, with more than 400 films and more than 150,000 audiences attending during the nearly one-month period every year. It is also one of the most important film festivals in North America.
Schedule of Taiwanese films at SIFF 2019
Long Time No Sea
Thursday, May 30 - 6:30pm - Lincoln Square in Bellevue, WA
Thursday, June 6 - 7pm - Pacific Place Cinemas in downtown Seattle
Saturday, June 8 - 4pm - Pacific Place Cinemas in downtown Seattle
Cities of Last Things
Tuesday, May 28 - 7pm - SIFF Cinema Egyptian in Seattle
Friday, June 7 - 6:30pm - SIFF Cinema Uptown in Seattle
Saturday, June 8 - 9pm - SIFF Cinema Uptown in Seattle
Gatao 2: Rise of the King
Tuesday, May 21 - 9:30pm - SIFF Cinema Egyptian in Seattle
Tuesday, May 28 - 9:30pm - SIFF Cinema Egyptian in Seattle
A Family Tour
Saturday, May 18 - 3:30pm - Lincoln Square in Bellevue, WA
Friday, May 24 - 1:30pm - SIFF Cinema Uptown
Monday, May 27 - 8:30pm - SIFF Cinema Uptown