After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the third edition of a Taiwanese film festival titled "Taiwan: raízes e horizontes (臺灣電影的草根性視野)" kicked off at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil on Sep. 26, with "Nina Wu (灼人秘密)," a 2019 Taiwanese feature directed by Midi Z (趙德胤), as the opening film.
At the opening ceremony, famous Taiwanese filmmakers, such as Best Leading Actor winner of the Golden Horse Award Mo Tzu-yi (莫子儀), directors Yu Kan-Pin (虞戡平), Wei Te-Sheng (魏德聖) and Yang Brian (楊智麟), expressed their blessings for the success of the film festival through pre-recorded videos. In addition, several traditional performances such as Techno Prince Nezha (電音三太子) and War Drum (戰鼓) were showcased, as well as Taiwanese-style wheel pies were served to participants at the scene.
The festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture's Spotlight Taiwan Project (光點計畫), directed by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Sao Paulo, hosted by the Film School of the University of Sao Paulo, and co-curated by Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission coordinator Kelly Ju-Hsin Hsieh (謝如欣) and Professor Cecilia Mello of the University of Sao Paulo.
The festival will present two VR short films created by Taiwan's high-tech company HTC Corporation (宏達國際電子). The titles include "The Making Of (幕後)" by director Midi Z and "Mr. Buddha (董仔的人)" by director Lee Chung (李中). Additionally, 15 feature films will be screened under three categories: classic and modern, gender equality, and Taiwan's indigenous series.
During the festival, free screenings of Taiwanese films will take place daily until Oct. 14. Viewing of VR films requires a prior reservation, other general feature films will be screened at the Film School of the University of Sao Paulo.