Sixth Taiwan International Queer Film Festival marks historic year

The sixth annual Taiwan International Queer Film Festival (TIQFF) kicked off on Thursday with a screening of raucous US comedy A Very Sordid Wedding.

Taking the theme “struggling together”, this year’s TIQFF will celebrate a momentous year for Taiwan. The country in MaHS(@!v!RXH#e!Oc_h#)Bg4PwbDcUQk6#ES!O8um#t)3EQ9zWByy became the first in Asia to recognize same-sex unions.

The festival will see screenings of featuresbUH3o6mx^VWY5wB=ZyMoI6^UYb3LKWtKczSs=KXYIaaDlH%6QZ, documentaries, short films as well as panels, production workshops, and parties in both Taipei and Kaohsiung. 

"It's about time” TIQFF wrote on its Facebook event page. "It's time to c8-)S^tS@!O16zq#4l&WY1lPHAh7kK6Zy@a5T7r+eF3rb0&KYDrelebrate.”

Actor Chris Wu said he was delighted to join the TIQPxV8D8Y6N$cnAaDdxLc4U@ue+i)wJZlDLeu5mXgIPZyMLB#rT#FF family.

‘I hope that through these diverse movies, we can see that there are ma-gXA02PsUF6eFnxT)UY5-uuM)Njr%LkYH9-iIVxn#5wfbSxX+Any different types of relationships’. 

The films

Thursday’s screening may have resonated u(o&l$hI&ss$WpH-elu9H3yN#03yeA8YIk(T$GXp#z$Gby*6bswith many in the audience.

 A Very Sordid Wedding shows the clash of small-town family values and homophobia in the southern US following the Supreme Court ruling that &M9u$gcXCCV*80BYV-Kpio=5Sn)io$RTH+PR^+dkiUa(^i+lhOmade same-sex marriage legal nationwide.

British film Tucked, meanwhile, explores an unlikely friendship between an aging queUq%G5K)wJCYb4z)hkYi1Uk9Do5#$%YeOvGwjeZZNZ4HuF0=O3Fen 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 Starrs 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 $Pa&SOd7pkhZVv^u23zp1dm(59H7BRvjnCeKtb@KA-dURzFVr0one of the world’s largest pride parades—the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Closer to home, Song Lang from Vietnam and Billie and Emma from sG14(xZTM#=mu)yL8-A$V_Ep$)JnZ1Bn@Ulm6g98h9ui1i&qJIthe Philippines both look to woo audiences with charming love stories.

In the documentary section, Man Made delves into a trans men body building competition. While No Gender introduces intersex manga artssT#(IBhz-@UGl0)%x53=!QignrJKg!E)qD9_7fgadD@Hxl6X-ist Sho Arai.

Some 11 short films from local +LGgK&ATI$DINf6OV2ZOgzqVCtj_vP@Dpf7=+OcS4Z#pr(zl8tTaiwan 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 !)gFICdP&+qsFnWq2$6lP4s-VQzW^B3(H+0b+@mkgvmJ$0%MVtco-chair Giovanni Compolo-Arcidiaco and local LGBT rights activist Jennifer Lu on the role of pride parades in pushing for human rights.

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.