A total of eight Taiwan-produced movies are set to be screened online for free from June 5-12 as part of “Mini-Focus: Taiwan Cinema Online” hosted by U.S.-based film festival Asian Pop-Up Cinema.
The lineup includes five critically and commercially acclaimed feature films headlined by “Detention” from director John Hsu alongside “Murmur of the Hearts” by Sylvia Chang; “The Gangster’s Daughter,” Mei-Juin Chen; “Who Killed Cock Robin,” Cheng Wei-hao; and “We Are Champions,” Chang Jung-Chi. Three shorts—“Tea Land,” “Wild Tides” and “Towards the Sun”—will also be shown.
Last year’s highest grossing film in Taiwan, horror “Detention” is adapted from the same-titled video game and set during the country’s White Terror era. It won best new director, best adapted screenplay, best visual effects, best original film song and best art direction at the 2019 Golden Horse Awards, known as the Oscars of the Chinese-language film industry.
Organized by nonprofit group Sophia's Choice, Asian Pop-Up Cinema’s 10th edition was originally scheduled for March 10 before being postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Mini-Focus: Taiwan Cinema Online” is hoping to do its part to promote social distancing by providing viewers with high-quality content at home, according to the event’s executive director Sophia Wong Boccio.
Founded in May 2015, Sophia’s Choice aims to foster appreciation for diverse Asian cultures. Its Asian Pop-Up Cinema film festival is held semiannually in Chicago. (TYT-E)
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