The Urban Nomad Film Festival opens today with an exciting lineup of 25 feature-length and six short films. The annual event, now running for the 14th year in a row, has grown to become an important platform showcasing thought-provoking indie films which raise awareness of social issues.
For Urban Nomad co-founder and frequent contributor to the Taipei Times, David Frazier, the festival is about being able to offer diverse experiences to festival-goers, while connecting with the community through a variety of events.
“We are not looking at films as something that is inside the box…It is not just to buy your ticket, enjoy a movie and go home. It is a form of human expression and creativity,” he says.
Photo Courtesy of Urban Nomad Film Festival
GROWING COMPETITION
For the first time this year, Urban Nomad expanded the scope of its competition section — which was previously limited to short films — to include feature films. With the objective of supporting indie talent, it recognizes excellence in filmmaking in Taiwanese productions or films made in Taiwan and offers more than NT$60,000 in cash prizes.
The expat community in particular came in strong this year. Formosa Boulevard (美麗島大道), a feature-length comedy by long-time expat Scott Weatherall, is an example of this.
Photo Courtesy of Urban Nomad Film Festival
Also, for the second year in a row, the festival will be handing out awards for music videos made by independent bands and artists. This is significant because there is no other award in Taiwan which recognize the creativity in music videos besides the Golden Melody Awards (金曲獎) — and that is only for pop stars and mainstream acts.
As Frazier says, “music videos are actually some of the most interesting short films we get…Commercial music channels don’t really show them — they mostly exist on YouTube.”
SELECT LINEUP
Photo Courtesy of Urban Nomad Film Festival
Amidst the legion of Taipei film festivals, Urban Nomad is known for its distinctive taste in works that encompass a broad range of topics from activism to art, providing a much needed venue to start social conversations.
The festival will open with Cambodian Son, a fine film which follows Kosal Khiev’s troubled journey from war refugee to renowned poet.
Another gripping narrative is The Look of Silence. The documentary is a sequel to Joshua Oppenheimer’s Oscar-nominated The Act of Killing, which premiered at Urban Nomad in 2013. This time, Oppenheimer revisits the legacy of the 1965 Indonesian genocide through the eyes of a victim returning to his hometown.
Photo Courtesy of Urban Nomad Film Festival
The festival will close with Small Oyster Rock in Keziliao (蚵子寮漁村記事), a film about how a group of residents in a small fishing town in southern Taiwan create a music festival where top indie musicians from all over the country come to play.
Other films which deserve shout-outs include Zombie Ass: Toilet of the Dead, a must-see for B-movie fans addicted to warped comedies. Meanwhile, skateboarders should check out This Ain’t California, which unearths the hitherto unheard-of skateboarding scene in 1980s East Berlin.
SOCIAL GATHERING
There will also be post-screening Q&A sessions. Dan Nuxoll, program director of Rooftop Films, a non-profit based in New York City which promotes indie films through rooftop screenings, will be one of the speakers at Urban Nomad.
Having attended these gatherings in New York City over the past two summers, Frazier says it helps to remind him of what he is trying to accomplish in Taipei.
“They put lots of effort into doing things that add to the experience, besides just watching the movies,” he says.
Over the years, Urban Nomad has reached out to the local community for support and this year is no different.
For Somm, a documentary about four sommeliers trying to pass an exam to attain the status of Master Sommelier, a title held by less than 200 people in the world, the festival’s organizers will team up with Gourmet Taipei for a sommelier-led wine-tasting event after the film’s screening on Wednesday.
Another such collaboration is with the Taiwan International Queer Film Festival (台灣國際酷兒影展). Urban Nomad will throw a party this Saturday prior to the screening of To Be Takei, a biopic of actor and gay rights activist George Takei. The theme is Trekkie vs Drag Queen, and cocktails will be served by waiters dressed as Star Trek characters in drag.
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