The Oklahoma City Museum of Art, in collaboration with the Film Association and the Taiwan Academy of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston, hosted the “Blades & Ballet: King Hu and the Heroines of Wuxia (舞劍：胡金銓的俠女美學)” Taiwan Martial Arts Film Festival from Nov. 2 to 5. The festival kicked off with a screening of director Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢)’s “The Assassin (刺客聶隱娘)” at the Samuel Roberts Noble Theater, a prominent venue in the museum.
The opening screening of the festival was attended by Michael Anderson, the museum director, Lisa Broad, the film curator, and Professor Man-Fung Yip, the chair of the Film and Media Studies Department at the University of Oklahoma. They guided the local audience in understanding the history of Taiwanese film culture and the exquisite aesthetics presented by director Hou Hsiao-hsien in his martial arts films.
The festival showcased seven films, including director King Hu (胡金銓)’s “Dragon Inn (龍門客棧),” “A Touch of Zen (俠女),” and “The Fate of Lee Khan (迎春閣之風波),” as well as the restored version of Hu’s feature film “Raining in the Mountain (空山靈雨),” the result of nearly two years of work by experts at the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute. It also featured Tsai Ming-liang (蔡明亮)’s film “Goodbye, Dragon Inn (龍門客棧),” a tribute to King Hu’s “Dragon Inn,” and Ang Lee’s international hit “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (臥虎藏龍).”
In recent years, the film culture in Oklahoma has seen remarkable development, and it is now considered one of the states with the most potential for film production. The Oklahoma City Museum of Art places great importance on promoting film aesthetics from around the world. The renowned Samuel Roberts Noble Theater within the museum focuses on screening films from various countries, independent films, documentaries, and classic films. Taiwan Academy of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston hopes that this film festival will generate interest and attention from the academic community in the valuable film cultural assets of Taiwan.