The Filmosa Festival, an event co-organized by the Taiwan Cultural Center in Paris and the Paris-based FILMOSA association, will feature 12 Taiwanese films from Sept. 29 to Oct. 3 in Paris.
Kicking off with a two-day special screening of “A City of Sadness (悲情城市),” a 1989 Taiwanese historical drama directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢), the festival will introduce various films to the French public through five sessions, including Films of the Year, Film Spotlight: Director Yee Chih-yen (易智言), Documentary in partnership with Taiwan Docs, and Selection from the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.
Culture Minister Shih Che attended the first screening of “A City of Sadness” on Sept. 15, explaining to the audience that taking viewers back to 1989 through this film to see the difficult film production environment in Taiwan can help them better understand the meaning of this film and the talent of director Hou.
“A City of Sadness,” which is based on a story during the 228 Incident, won the Golden Lion for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival in 1989 for its unique visual style and the way it presents the political and historical development of Taiwan. The film’s success helps open the door for Taiwanese films to appear and win awards in major international film festivals.
Representative to France Francois Wu (吳至中), who also attended the screening, said that while Taiwan’s democracy and economy have developed continuously over the past three decades, it required tremendous courage to make this film during the turbulent era.
The Filmosa Festival was established by the FILMOSA association in 2018 to share the culture of Taiwanese cinema with the French public. The association has since selected outstanding Taiwanese films every year to introduce new works and directors to the French film circle.
The Taiwan Cultural Center in Paris started co-organizing the festival with the FILMOSA association in 2019 to deepen the cultural exchange between Taiwan and France.
More information can be found at https://www.lafilmotheque.fr/evenements/festival-filmosa-2023/.