The Filmosa Association joined hands with Taiwan Cultural Center in Paris to organize the 5th Filmosa Festival, the Taiwanese film festival in Paris, from Sept. 30 through Oct. 8. This year, the film festival took place at the Filmothèque theater in Latin Quarter and at the House of Culture of Japan in Paris. Nine Taiwanese movies were selected and played in 15 screening events, allowing the French audience to spend an evening enjoying Taiwanese films.
The Filmosa Festival is composed of three categories including "Filmmaker of the Year," "Selection of the Year," and "Japanese and Taiwanese Documentary." Director Lou Yi-an (樓一安) and the Golden Horse Award winner Mo Tzu-yi (莫子儀) were invited to attend the "Filmmaker of the Year" section and post-screening talks to exchange ideas with the audience.
Lou is adept at narrating complicated storylines, depicting the lives of the working class and immigrants, and exposing the social injustice he perceived in his movies. Lou's works "Goddamned Asura (該死的阿修羅)," "A Place of One's Own (一席之地)," and "The Losers (廢物)" received warm responses at the screening.
In the "Selection of the Year" section screened the digitally restored movie "Dust of Angels (少年吔，安啦)," which was the closing film of Directors' Fortnight at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival, hoping to attract film distributors' attention. "Listen Before You Sing (聽見歌 再唱)" depicts the story of Bunun children participating in a choir competition. The touching film moved the audience to tears and arouse the viewers’ interest in Taiwanese indigenous peoples.
On Oct. 7 and 8, films selected for "Japanese and Taiwanese Documentary" were screened at the House of Culture of Japan in Paris. Films about the history and culture between Taiwan and Japan were played, including "Green Jail (綠色牢籠)" by Huang Yin-yu (黃胤毓), "Myanmar Remembered (我那遙遠的呼喚)" by Lee Li-shao (李立劭), and "Le Moulin (日曜日式散步者)" by Huang Ya-li (黃亞歷).