The 22nd edition of the Udine Far East Film Festival will be a revolutionary one that will take place entirely online on MYmovies.it from June 26 to July 4. With support from the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (TFAI) and the Taipei Golden Horse Film Project Promotion, the revered Italian festival will celebrate its inaugural digital session with a trio of premiering Taiwanese films and a restored classic by auteur Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢).
Political psycho-horror flick "Detention (返校)" by director John Hsu (徐漢強) is set during the 1960s, when Taiwan was still under martial law, and tells the story of two students who find themselves in a realm of vengeful spirits in their empty school and must search for their missing teacher while making their escape.
"I WeirDO (怪胎)" by director Liao Mingyi (廖明毅) was shot entirely on an iPhone and is being touted as the most eccentric love story of the year. The collision of two self-professed oddballs who share a fear of human contact and viral contagions pay tribute to the profoundness of universal themes in cinema and the festival's 2020 slogan — "Face to face, heart to heart."
Sports drama "We Are Champions (下半場)" by director Chang Jung-chi (張榮吉) begins with a viral video of a street game between two basketball-loving brothers from a single-parent family. Eventually they meet again in Taiwan's HBL championship game, only to realize that there are more important things in life than winning.
Released in 1982, Hou's "Cheerful Wind (風兒踢踏踩)" follows an assistant cameraperson who is caught between dreams and love, only to make a very astonishing decision for a woman at that day and age. Through scenes of everyday life, Hou effortlessly illustrates the interactions and inner feelings of the male and female leads. Despite adopting the form and style of a mainstream film, "Cheerful Wind" employs a narrative approach that nonetheless offers a true reflection of Taiwanese society then.
The Far East Film Festival will use www.mymovies.it as its streaming platform; participants will also be able to vote online for audience awards and partake in seminar sessions with filmmaking professionals around the world.