Seven Taiwan-produced short films are set to be screened online Sept. 13-20 as part of the 2020 SeaShorts Film Festival organized by Malaysia-based SeaShorts Film Society with support from Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture.
The lineup includes three shorts under the heading Migrating Forms as part of a collaboration with Kaohsiung Film Festival based in the southern Taiwan city. “Lovely Sundays,” directed by Hsueh Wen-shuo, depicts the encounter between a caretaker and a factory operator from the Philippines during their day off, while “Nine Shots” by Su Che-hsieh and “Arnie” by Rina Tsou reveal the challenges and personal struggles of Southeast Asian migrant workers in Taiwan.
In partnership with the Golden Harvest Awards, Taiwan’s longest running short film festival, the remaining four shorts will be screened under the Best of Golden Harvest category.
Among these, “Fire at Forest” by Burmese-Chinese director Myo Aung explores changes in Myanmar since the country opened its borders to foreign capital in 2010, while “Tea Land” by Tseng Ying-ting shows how five runaway migrant workers in Taiwan come to rely on one another.
“Be Shit or Not to Be” is a light-hearted piece by Chen Kuan-chung about the backstage drama between a rookie director and his loose-cannon crew, and “The Calling” by Chou Chia-hsien shows a high school graduate struggling to choose between meeting his father’s expectations or following his own passion.
Founded in 2017 by award-winning Malaysian filmmaker Tan Chui Mui, the annual SeaShorts Film Festival aims to foster appreciation and understanding of Southeast Asia’s diverse cultures.
The fourth edition will feature 52 shorts, as well as competitions, exhibitions, forums, music performances and workshops. It was originally scheduled to take place in Ipoh, Malaysia, before switching to an all-online format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (SFC-E)
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