The Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) has partnered with the Taipei Cultural Center in New York to invite moviegoers to a free screening of the film "Far Away Eyes (幻日手記)." Wang Chun-Hong's debut was awarded the MicroClimate Prize at the 2019 Festival International de Cinéma Marseille (FIDMarseille) when the film was still in development.
This screening is a part of CIFF's Summer Screenings program, which is a free weekly film series presented by the CIFF alongside various consular and cultural partners. Each week, a spotlight is cast on a different country's national cinema with a film screening and post-screening discussion. The 19th edition highlights 18 films from Taiwan, Germany, Ukraine, Italy, Mexico, Hungary, Canada, Ireland, France, Colombia, South Korea, Japan, Australia, US, Spain, the UK, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
This year, the theme of "Cinema in the City" brings together a wide range of films celebrating urban life in unique ways. Cinema has always been fascinated with the city as a "character"— a living, breathing organism that shapes the world around it. This program showcases the myriad ways in which cities are depicted in cinema and how people live, love, move through, and seek connection in urban spaces. Featuring stories set in cities all around the globe— from glittering black and white portraits of Taipei to the bustling cafes of Bogotá; the seaside cityscapes of Gothenburg and Galway to and Seoul to the streets, skyways, rivers, and trains right here in Chicago—these films express the rich, diverse personalities of cities on screen.
"Far Away Eyes" illustrates a photographer wandering through Taipei as the city braces for a presidential election. Adrift and questioning his chosen vocation, self-doubt begins to creep in as his 30th birthday approaches. The film is a thoughtful blend of fiction and documentary, complemented by gentle, strikingly composed black-and-white cinematography. "There is an undeniable beauty and effect in what Wang Chun-Hong has accomplished here," according to a review by Rouven Linnarz, an author for Asian Movie Pulse.
The screening will take place at the Chicago Cultural Center on Aug. 16 at 6:30 pm. Free tickets can be reserved at the following link: https://www.chicagofilmfestival.com/film/far-away-eyes/