The 2021 Kaohsiung Film Festival, due to take place from Oct. 15 to 31, has announced its lineup - documentary short film "The Night (良夜不能留)" directed by Tsai Ming-liang (蔡明亮) as well as the short film collection "QUARANTINI (隔離丁尼)" co-produced by the Kaohsiung Film Archive and the Public Television Service will serve as the opening films of the event. "You Have To Kill Me (我是自願讓他殺了我)," a television film based on the novel of the same name, will be screened as the closing film.
"The Night" will have its Asian premiere at the Kaohsiung Film Festival. Tsai said that the film was inspired by the appearance of the society during the Hong Kong extradition bill in 2019.
"QUARANTINI" consists of different films by three emerging directors, including "Be My Quarantine (我在隔離中)" by Chuang Shian-an (莊翔安), "Lockdown Diary (居家防疫日記)" by Lin Ya-yu (林亞佑), and "When Henge Meets Crescent (懸日與掛月)" by Lu Po-shun (呂柏勳).
This collection explores the "quarantine" appearance of people with the theme of changes amid the pandemic. For example, the movie term "Martini Shot" refers to the joy of the last shot of a day and also implies that we look forward to the day when the COVID-19 is over.
"You Have To Kill Me," starring Cheng Jen-shuo (鄭人碩), Janel Tsai (蔡淑臻), and Simon Hsueh (薛仕凌), is a suspense thriller movie depicting the story of a sudden homicide. A police officer received a murder report and discovered the deceased was his girlfriend, only to discover that she was killed voluntarily.
Sales of tickets to the Kaohsiung Film Festival will start on Oct 2. For more information, please visit the official website.