Celebrated director Tsai Ming-liang's (蔡明亮) latest film "Days" has been selected for the core category of the 58th New York Film Festival (NYFF), one of the most important film festivals in North America, according to the festival's organizer.
Featuring Taiwanese actor Lee Kang-sheng (李康生), Tsai's longtime collaborator, "Days" depicts a story of a middle-aged man, who suffers from loneliness and physical ailment. The man finds solace in the hands of a young Laotian immigrant, and they share an intimate interlude before returning once more to the humdrum of their daily lives.
According to NYFF's introduction to the film, "Days," the winner of the Teddy Special Jury Prize at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, is "a work of longing, constructed with the director’s customary brilliance at visual composition and shot through with profound empathy."
The film's American premiere, which was originally scheduled to be held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in April, was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now with the film selected as one of the "Main Slate" films of FYFF, Tsai said in a Facebook post on Aug.14 that "each film has its own fate."
Born in Kuching, Malaysia, in 1957, Tsai moved to Taiwan in his early 20s to study. He graduated from the Drama and Cinema Department of the Chinese Culture University in Taipei in 1982. He has represented Taiwan on the world stage with his distinctive film aesthetics. As a master in the realm of slow cinema, Tsai has won numerous accolades, including the Golden Lion and the Fipresci Prize, at international film festivals.
In addition to "Days" that is described by the festival as "undoubtedly will stand as one of Tsai's best, sparest, and most intimate works," four of Tsai’s films – "Your Face" in 2018, "Stray Dogs" in 2013, "Goodbye, Dragon Inn" in 2003, and "What Time is it There?" in 2001 – also appeared in the festival in the past years.
Established in 1963, the New York Film Festival celebrates essential cinematic offerings from around the globe and has been an enduring part of New York’s rich cultural and historical landscape for nearly six decades.
As the epidemic in the United States shows no sign of easing and indoor cinemas remain shuttered, the festival will feature drive-in and virtual screenings from Sept. 17 to Oct. 11, 2020. Visit here for more information about the festival.