In light of the ongoing pandemic, the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) will present a wide range of Taiwanese films through virtual Taiwan Cinema Pavilion at the 74th Cannes Film Festival, from July 6 to 15.
Seizing the opportunity to show Taiwan’s creative energy of diverse subjects, TAICCA assisted a total of 30 film industries and 2 directors to join the event and present a range of topics by showcasing more than 65 works, with titles including "Born to be Human (生而為人)," directed by Lily Ni (倪曜), discussing gender identity issues. "Dead & Beautiful (詭祭)" by director David Verbeek is a thriller in the vampire genre.
"Listen before you sing (聽見歌再唱)," by director Yang Chih-lin (楊智麟) delivers a heartwarming tale about aboriginal culture and music, "Salute (我心我行)" by director Yao Hung-i (姚宏易) films a biopic on Taiwanese dancer Sheu Fang-yi (許芳宜). While in the short film category, "National Immunity Disorder – Prelude (國家免疫失調-序曲)" by director Hsu Hao-hsiang(徐灝翔) explores the commonality between zombies and murders, and "U Loves You (看不見攻擊的程式)" describes a romance between a robot and a human.
Taiwanese works were well-received at this year's festival, and have been selected for various awards. Director Huang Hsin-chien's (黃心健) "Samsara Ep. 1 (輪迴)” and director Kao Yi-chun's (高逸軍) "The Abandoned Deity (落難神像)” are nominated for the "VeerR Future Award" and will compete for the "Best VR Story" and the "Best VR Interactive Experience" against 16 other works.
"Moneyboys (尋找)," a co-production by Taiwan-based Flash Forward Entertainment and producers in Austria, Belgium and France, has made it into the festival’s "Un Certain Regard section." Additionally, "XiXi," a documentary by Wu Fan (吳璠), is competing for the "Docs-in-Progress Award" of the Marche du Film’s Cannes Docs program.
In this year’s Cannes XR program, the festival partners up with NewImages Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival to create "XR3," a virtual exhibition showcasing the VR creations in the Museum of Other Realities (MOR), a virtual exhibition space.
Apart from the two Taiwanese works selected for the Marché du Film’s Cannes XR program, "Missing Pictures Episode 2: Tsai Ming-liang," will also be available.