Multiple projects from Taiwan were featured at this year’s Bolzano Film Festival Bozen April 3-13 in the northern Italian city as the government continues to promote the country’s diverse and vibrant cinema.
According to the Ministry of Culture, the festival’s special Focus: Taiwan section was a collaboration with theater and festival organizer Filmclub Bolzano. The MOC added that the screenings are also part of the Taiwan Cultural Year in Europe initiative jointly launched earlier this year with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Curated by BFFB Artistic Director Vincenzo Bugno, the Focus: Taiwan films cover a wide range of topics spanning family issues, labor rights, Indigenous identity, history and memory, and include “Gaga” by Laha Mebow, “And Miles to Go Before I Sleep” by Tsai Tsung-lung and “Mongrel” by Chiang Wei-liang and Yin You-qiao.
Panel discussions and Q&A sessions with Laha, Tsai, “Mongrel” actress Lu Yi-ching and Stefano Centini, a producer based in Taipei and Rome, offered audiences a unique opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the evolution and current state of Taiwan’s cinema.
According to the Taipei Representative Office in Italy, films from Taiwan began to make waves in the EU member state in the late 1980s. The screenings at the 38th BFFB spread awareness of local productions to new international audiences and expand the country’s connections with European film festivals to create more opportunities for Taiwan’s filmmakers. (SFC-E)
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