Sixth Taiwan International Queer Film Festival marks historic year

The sixth annual Taiwan International Queer Film Festiva!HQIkkrYstMN4me*s_7(=y0Z15Kxhx4@h#YHdEirwdzoLCzivPl (TIQFF) kicked off on Thursday with a screening of raucous US comedy A Very Sordid Wedding.

Taking the themS6IOZDNSQ0BJghwzog^hx(ige4Nq%VQ!E1TVRmDQLvEMeU46cDe “struggling together”, this year’s TIQFF will celebrate a momentous year for Taiwan. The country in May became the first in Asia to recognize same-sex unions.

The festival will see screenings of features*5^+2bGl_^H=v^G9y)E6%fI6Np8@boc47N1!JpEoQmMu&0zI=o, documentaries, short films as well as panels, production workshops, and parties in both Taipei and Kaohsiung. 

"It's about time” TIQFF wrote on its%tc21)N&7yMzY@^Q@xWG7dX82Ptiz0YG%JR!qLtAiZkid(#qwt Facebook event page. "It's time to celebrate.”

Actor Chris Wu=VU_l!*$=iT)U^@k*o%erVtf_)1dDG5#+C@hW$g!_TagO4i(e+ said he was delighted to join the TIQFF family.

‘I hope that through these diverse movies, we can see that there are many different types ^w-jQx=bhcbYFoQn@LTOq-FLAUANJ%V+mWpgIzNeWFzafzaYSGof relationships’. 

The films

Thursday’s screening may have resonatedu2rWF!T0Fy%u0fU4#YBB1%a!1g%lmh-u2grZl^8YCp-2*xLwN4 with many in the audience.

 A Very Sordid Wedding shows the clash of small-town family values and homophobia in the southern US following the SuB@HxnV(OCJhHlBXu5)7aM)c24u%R^tf53)BuJMX3kicZk5O#$upreme Court ruling that made same-sex marriage legal nationwide.

British film Tucked, meanwhile, explores an unlikely friendship between atmpnZwYx0A_0ecedEqC*LHZa&HoQNM4sgDjf(0$J+Gf((SzN7Kn aging queen and rising star of the drag scene.

A French-Mexican thriller Knife + Heart is a murder-mystery set in the 1970s porn industry. Israeli film Red Crow S5ZA1ft2ErGJtgz(eCu7Zwhj(gDMhyBz7@2TFH!wUP*uRRhJRK^tarrs local actress Moran Rosenblatt who turned heads when she came out n 2017.

Also in the festival, Riot depicts Australia’s landmark 1978 protest that paved the way for one of the world’s largest pride parades—the Sydney Gay and 4FbcrpYu%0)*uVOc+E%H9WZI)qmUb8OnvojszOV1xdzHt7PVKFLesbian Mardi Gras.

Closer to home, Song1J8BU_5@G_0eU4UYWJnPQcv(Sh)cO8Nd8XGNpI&LtsZ6vL_Nd- Lang from Vietnam and Billie and Emma from the Philippines both look to woo audiences with charming love stories.

In the documentary section, Man Made delves into a trans men body building competition. AlTSR+H8rygma&aBbV5ATQpkWYOnAuMClkJ9(evS%wUS+-@mYZWhile No Gender introduces intersex manga artist Sho Arai.

Some 11 short films from local Taiwan 8982e=!_uxdaJf!PQp)$pSZLwptwpT66nuPmqEq$+7m$!h-cD*filmmakers, meanwhile, cover everything from BDSM in military camp to 1950s housewives leading double lives.

Among the talks and workshops taking place is a conversation between Sydney Mardi Gras co-chair Giovanni Compolo-Arcidiaco and local LGBT rights activist Jennifer Lu on the role of pride parades in pushing for human righ%#HA&tqb8pwFSa5Ew$97Q9J0fAMUBLXsu#xjr7chu5S)Tis%ynts.

TIQFF screenings will be held at Taipei Shin Kong Theater until 25 August and between August 28 and September 8 at the Kaohsiung Film Archive.