It's all go at local arthouse theaters

Autumn is around the corner, signaling the upcoming season of international film festivals in Taiwan. The Women Make Waves Film and Video Festival (女性影展) and the Golden Horse Film Festival (金馬影展) released details of their lineup last week.

Starting 12 years ago, Women Make Waves has become a magnet for national and international artists, receiving nearly 130 submissions from local filmmakers this year, with just 30 of these films

selected.

The festival also puts together two new programs, namely Queer Directors and Male Director, in the hope of expanding its horizon and position itself as a showcase specializing in gender issues. The festival will be held in Taipei and Kaohsiung in October, with a total of over 100 films. Guest directors and film representatives around the world have also been invited.

The Golden Horse will come one month later with its impressive A-list of directors such as New Yorkers Woody Allen and Jim Jarmusch, Japanese delegates Jun Ichikawa and Mitsuo Yanagimachi, and German Wim Wenders.

The legend Ingmar Bergman will surprise audiences with his latest digital work Saraband, while British eccentric Peter Greenaway will present the last part of his visually astounding The Tulse Luper Suitcases trilogy, From Sark to Finish.

The deadline for international competition in the digital short film category is only six days away. For more information and application forms go to http://www.goldenhorse.org.tw.

Two art house movies starring children and intended for an adult audience hit the big screen this week. Turtles Can Fly (烏龜也會飛) is the third feature of Iraqi director Bhaman Ghobadi, who has gained recognition in international art film circles for his acclaimed A Time For Drunken Horses and Marooned in Iraq.

Set in the director's native Kurdistan, just prior to the US invasion of Iraq, the film tells of the brutal reality of refugee camps through the life of a 13-year-old, Soran, who leads a band of children that go to the fields everyday and dig up land mines to maintain a meager existence.

The film is not about politics, but presents a surprisingly uplifting portrayal of the refugees' daily struggle for survival, amid violence and despair.

Turtles Can Fly won the best film award at the San Sebastian Film Festival and numerous awards at film festivals around the world. It is Iran's official submission for Oscar's best foreign-language film this year.

Stolen Childhood (荒唐歲月) from Italy tells the heart-wrenching tale of the hit City of God. The story is told through a juxtaposition of the past and present of 11-year-old gang leader Rosario, who takes a train ride to a destination that will dramatically change his life.

Along the journey, we see the boy recall his recent past as a young gangster trying to survive on the streets in the poor suburbs of Naples, Italy. We see Rosario's relationship with his bedridden grandmother, his failed longing for beautiful 16-year-old Caterina, and the cool hard cruelty he must endure to be part of the underworld.

And we also see his dreams to live a life without violence and crimes, to lead a carefree life where he only needs to think about playing soccer games and flirting with girls.

The film shows us the dark side of Italy: organized crime, unemployment, child prostitution and worse. But instead of giving a two-hour long lecture on social issues and problems, the directors successfully create a touching narration of the lives of the deprived and underprivileged through a boy's inner thoughts.