Lovers of Taiwan cinema are in for a treat! This year’s BookFest@Malaysia, the largest trilingual book exposition in the country, includes the first ever Taiwan Film Festival.
Held in conjunction with BookFest@Malaysia’s Taiwan Literature Festival, this film festival will see six acclaimed Taiwanese films screened over two days.
One of these films is My Mother, directed by Wang Ming-Tai and based on the novel of the same name by Liao Yu-Hui. The 25-minute film tells the story of an elderly mother in a modern home who feels increasingly useless, and how her feelings finally comes to a head on the eve of Chinese New Year. The film will be screened on June 30 and July 1 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KL Convex), where BookFest@Malaysia is currently taking place.
Another highlight of the film festival is Wawa No Cidal. Directed by Cheng Yu-Chieh and Lekal Sumi, the 99-minute film tells the story of Panay, a reporter working in Taipei who comes from one of Taiwan’s aboriginal tribes. When Panay learns that her tribe’s lands are being overdeveloped for tourism, she decides to return home to stop the exploitation.
One of the few Taiwan movies filmed from an indigenous perspective, Wawa No Cidal has received numerous accolades, including the Audience Choice Award at the 2015 Taipei Film Festival. It will be screened on July 1.
The other films that will be shown are Old Seafarer (based on a work by Syaman Rapongan), Those Days When We Were Young (based on a work by Ji-ji), Paperboy (based on a work by Yang Kui) and Spring Beauty (based on a work by Luo Yi-Jun).
All films will have Chinese subtitles, while My Mother and Wawa No Cidal will also feature English and Bahasa Malaysia subtitles.
A scene from My Mother, a short film that deals with a problem most countries face – an ageing population.
Selected screenings will be followed by discussion sessions with well-known Taiwanese directors Yu-Jane and Liao Shih-Han, who hope to interact with Malaysian movie fans, share creative movie and literature ideas, and promote better art exchange between Malaysia and Taiwan. Translators will be present.
All movies under the Taiwan Film Festival will be screened at the Hospitality Lounge 1 of the KL Convex. Admission is free with purchase of the BookFest@Malaysia catalogue.
BookFest@Malaysia 2017 is on from 10am to 10pm until July 2 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Admission is with purchase of the BookFest catalogue at RM2.50 per entry or RM10 for multiple entries. Catalogues are available at all Popular and Harris bookstore outlets nationwide and at the event’s entrance. Entrance is free for students 18 years old and below and senior citizens aged 60 and above. For more information, visit BookFestMalaysia. Star Media Group is a media partner of BookFest@Malaysia 2017.
