Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (TFAI) and France's La Cinémathèque française (House of the Movies) have jointly curated a film festival, "French Classics Rediscovered: Freedom For Us (法國經典影展：自由是我們的！)," providing the audience in Taiwan with a rare glimpse of the artistic freedom expressed in French cinema and society during the interwar period.
Throughout the French film festival, which runs from June 3 to July 31, a selection of 31 French movies produced from 1915 to 1939 will be screened at TFAI. This is also the first time that a special topic on French film history before Taiwan New Wave Cinema was launched in Taiwan.
Taiwanese experimental music pioneer Lim Giong (林強) was invited to perform at the opening ceremony and to create new soundtracks for French experimental short films of the 1920s, La Tour and Lumière et Ombre, demonstrating the spirit of cultural exchange between Taiwan’s modern experimental music and French experimental films from a century ago. In addition, the festival also invited French musician Eric Bijon to perform with Taiwanese pianist Ellen Lee (李其叡) and percussionist Allen Wu (吳沛奕).
In line with the film festival, replicas of movie scenes are also displayed on the first floor at TFAI, including the Lattice Tower, Champs-Elysées Avenue, Seine River, street cafes, bistros, and public square. Through the scenes, the audience can discover different meanings behind the images as the styles of works evolved over time.
As part of an exchange between the TFAI and its French counterpart, La Cinémathèque française, TFAI aims to promote the world’s audiovisual heritage, allowing Taiwanese audiences to experience moving stories that took place in France in the 1920s and 1930s. Through the film festival, the audience can better understand the transition from silent movies to sound films.