Taiwan Film Festival of Boston will take place this weekend at AMC Boston Common
At a time of disruption and growing isolation, a group of Taiwanese and Taiwanese Americans are striving to rebuild community and family connections through the universal language of emotion.
Taiwan Film Festival of Boston hopes to inspire dialogues and interpersonal connections by addressing human feelings and shared life experiences in its fourth annual “Crack & Light” screening at AMC Boston Common.
Organizers say this year’s event will center around life’s imperfections and the hope, perseverance, and courage that fills the void.
“The theme ‘Crack & Light’ conveys all our rediscoveries during the pandemic,” Co-president Min Tang said. “Love is the light that shines through the cracks for people of this generation.”
Since 2019, the location for the festival has moved from MIT to AMC Boston Common. Around 700 to 1,000 people have attended in past years.
In addition to bringing the community together, Co-president Yu-Jou Wang said the team also hopes to increase the visibility of their hometown while “bring[ing] Taiwan closer” to Boston through movies. The Hub is home to 690,000 people, with about 3.6% of residents primarily speaking Mandarin, according to city data from 2019.
This year’s festival features eight films, including two award-winning documentaries, The Passage (通道) and Faces of a Taiwanese Opera Actress (苦伶的臉譜). Other films include Grandma and Her Ghosts (魔法阿嬤), Eagle Hand (老鷹之手), Me and My Condemned Son (我的兒子是死刑犯), Enigma: The Chinese Crested Tern (尋找神話之鳥), Let the Wind Carry Me (乘著光影旅行), and Listen Before You Sing (聽見歌 再唱).
Directors Shau-Di Wang, Chieh-Te Liang, and Chia-Hua Lee will attend post-screening forums moderated by Harvard University professors Laura Huang and Scott Edwards, and Sandy Liang from the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services.
The event also includes a Saturday evening reception at Pellas Gallery.
“Throughout the curation process, we often see our own reflection in the movies one way or another,” Co-president Annie Yao said. “We hope the audience can resonate the same way too.”
More info here
Tickets here
Artemis is a Taiwanese writer, activist, and entrepreneur. At the age of 16, she founded Taiwan’s largest student-based independent international news organization. She graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree from Peking University and is now a journalism graduate student at Boston University. She hopes to achieve social justice with the power of communication.
