Taiwanese films "Life for Sale (售命)" and "Reclaim (一家之主)," which were selected for the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF), had their world premieres in the US at Lincoln Center and Asia Society, respectively. Director Tom Teng (鄧仲謀) and CJ Wang (王希捷) attended the press conference held by the Taipei Cultural Center in New York (TCC) to share their thoughts; while the sharing sessions after the screenings also received a resounding response from the audience.
"Life for Sale," which premiered at Lincoln Center on July 24, tells the story of a despondent insurance salesman who puts his life up for sale on the Internet. It started as a comedy and became increasingly dark and violent as the story continued. Addressing the post-screening discussion, Director Teng stated that he was concerned that there would be little audience since the premiere is on a Sunday night, but it turned out well. Also, he initially expected the audience to be Taiwanese living in the US; however, the race of the audience was very diverse.
Director of Global Performing Arts and Cultural Initiatives at the Asia Society Rachel Cooper addressed the opening speech at the "Reclaim" premiere. After the screening of the "Reclaim," Director Wang attended the sharing session, hosted by NYAFF Programmer Rachel Cooper, with Professor Vincent Cheng (鄭子文) at Borough of Manhattan Community College as the on-site interpreter.
Director Wang stated that the film "Reclaim" was inspired by Edward Yang (楊德昌)'s film "Yiyi: A One and a Two (一一)," and it sparked her curiosity about what life was like for high school students back then. "Reclaim" centers on a woman on the verge of retirement and deals with the pressures of life. Through the film, Wang hoped to show Asian families from a different perspective to the Western world.
Director of the TCC in New York Chang Hui-chun (張惠君) indicated that in recent years, there are several female-led movies including "Little Big Women (孤味)," "The Falls (瀑布)," and more. Although they portrayed women’s stories, they are the works of male directors. "Reclaim," on the other hand, told the story of ordinary family life from a female director's standpoint.
The New York Asian Film Festival, North America's leading festival, returned to cinemas this year after two years due to the pandemic. More than 60 films from 12 countries, such as Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and China, were screened at Lincoln Center and Asia Society in the US.