As part of a Taiwan film series titled "Taiwan Films at HOME" launched by HOME, Manchester's largest fusion arts institution in the UK, "The Rice Bomber (白米炸彈客)" is slated to screen on June 15.
Directed by Cho Li (卓立), the acclaimed political drama is based on a true social event. The story follows Ru, a farmer, who is against the importation of rice and its impact on the land and the livelihood of Taiwan's agricultural workers. He approaches the government, hoping that they can amend the policies to offer more support for local farmers. However, his efforts are all in vain. Eventually, he decides to make 17 rice bombs to make them listen.
This screening will be introduced by Andy Willis, Professor of Film Studies at the University of Salford and HOME’s Senior Visiting Curator: Film. Previously, Taiwanese films "My Missing Valentine (消失的情人節)" and "Super Citizen Ko (超級大國民)" were also screened as part of this series.
HOME has a long and ongoing commitment to screening films from East Asia, in particular those in Chinese languages. The cinema of Taiwan has always been a key part of this offer. Therefore, HOME launches the “Taiwan Films at HOME” in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and the Taipei Representative Office in the UK to bring a range of Taiwanese films to Manchester.
Opened in 2015, HOME is Manchester’s center for international contemporary art, theatre and film. Its ambition is to push the boundaries of form and technology, to experiment, have fun and take risks. It also hopes to explore what it means to be human today and to share great new art with the widest possible audience.