Taiwan's most diverse celebration of world music begins tomorrow
By Ron Brownlow
Taiwan's most diverse celebration of world music kicks off tomorrow and Sunday with free screenings of documentary films at Taipei's Guling Street Theater.

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The Ninth Taipei Arts Festival is packed with feats of derring-do
by Ian Bartholomew
This Sunday, 40m above the flagstones of the Taipei Zhongshan Hall plaza, Compagnie Transe Express will perform their high-wire music and acrobatics to open the Ninth Taipei Arts Festival (2007第九屆台北藝術節). Their feats of daring and skill seem a fitting prelude to a selection of local and international performances spanning modern and traditional art, Western and Asian forms, contemporary innovations and age-old foundations. These performances will attempt to form something that is not just new, but which can win the hearts of audiences as well.

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By Ho Yi
Ang Lee (李安) made a swift, three-day visit to his homeland this week for a whirlwind of book signing events, the local premiere of his espionage thriller Lust, Caution (色,戒), press conferences, Mid-Autumn family festivities and to receive a US$600,000 award by the Government Information Office (GIO) for bagging a second Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

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Two comedian greats will appear onstage together for the first time this weekend. They also got together offstage to discuss what makes good comedy, why they are funny and more
By Ron Brownlow
Taipei's best American and British comedians, New Yorker Dan Machanik and Hartley Pool, from Hartlepool, share the stage for the first time this weekend. The Taipei Times caught up with them Saturday night at a Japanese restaurant/lounge on Anhe Road, made them drink beer and several pitchers of sake, then asked a few questions. Like their routines, the following excerpts are not suitable for children or the easily offended.

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By Queen Bee
Another big opening beckons this week. Sona, a brilliant and renowned producer/DJ from the US, has been residing quietly in Taipei for about a year. Finally, the house music ambassador is ready to get down to some serious biz with Saucey. The master will spin in a weekly gig called Bump at Naomi, and a will be resident DJ at Kama.

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The Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival turns a mirror on itself and takes a look at Aboriginal groups from around the world through their own eyes, rather than from an outside perspective
By Ian Bartholomew
Film festivals are one of the only recourses for moviegoers in Taiwan who want something more than action adventure or romantic comedy. Notable among these ventures is the biennial Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival (TIEFF, 台灣國際民族誌影展). Since it was first created in 2001 by Hu Tai-li (胡台麗), a research fellow at the Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica and a respected documentary filmmaker in her own right, the event has become a platform for the exploration of ethnic identity and a channel for Taiwan's ethnographic filmmakers to present their work locally and internationally.

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By Peter Bradshaw
Jason Biggs and Isla Fisher star in this reasonable romantic comedy about a pair of complete strangers who are romantically wounded from previous relationships. They decide to get married on a crazy whim. There are one or two good gags, and a funny small role for Chris Diamantopoulos playing Fisher's ex-fiance. He is a fantastically uptight, in-the-closet gay man; he is obsessed with how good he is at charades and gets a big laugh with a furious demonstration of how to do The Apple Dumpling Gang. It's not without fun, but there is something very strained and weird about the movie's premise: proposing marriage to a complete stranger as a way of reclaiming romance. Though that's not necessarily an obstacle to a funny film, and Wedding Daze has its moments.

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This festival will feature monsters, animation history, stop-motion and claymation as well as speakers from around the world
By Ho Yi
The fifth installment of the Taiwan International Animation Festival (TIAF, 台灣國際動畫展) is likely to amaze and perplex its audiences with an ambitious lineup that features nearly 700 animation films grouped into sections by theme. The mission: to help Taiwan's industry professionals, animation artists and members of the general public understand the art of animation. TIAF will do this by showcasing a kaleidoscope of animated films and inviting international guest speakers to lecture on their trade and art.

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Although this auteur director seldom offers anything concrete, the festival in his memory promises not only a wide selection of his films, but also a collection of his sketches and film posters
By Ho Yi
After its series of critically acclaimed programs delving into the liaison between cinema and other art forms, the POP Cinema (國民戲院) turns to auteurship. Starting today, the cinema presents a retrospective of Federico Fellini's 23 films as well as an exhibition of around 100 film posters, sketches and costumes from Fellini's Roma and Amarcord, which are on loan from Italy's Fondazione Federico Fellini and Comune de Rimini. This is an experience unlikely to be duplicated for years to come.

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Arab directors took the lion's share of the plaudits last Tuesday at the San Sebastian Film Festival with Palestinian effort Salt of This Sea by Anne-Marie Jacir and Recycle by Jordan's Mahmoud al-Massad sharing the Cinema in Movement award.

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Compiled by Martin Williams
Waz

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Restaurants: Shintori (新都里)

By Andrew huang
Right in the heart of Taipei's fashionable Anhe Road, Shintori (新都里) is an upscale Japanese restaurant aimed at well-to-do customers with discernable tastes.

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Restaurants: Lvsang Canteen (呂桑食堂)

By Ian Bartholomew
Much is made of the delights of Taiwan's snack foods - its little eats (小吃) - but the unfortunate truth is that there are only a relatively few places where the true potential of these dishes is realized. One of these establishments, which specializes in food from Ilan county, is Lvsang Canteen. This unpretentious restaurant, inconspicuous among the crowd of restaurants along Yongkang Street, offers many dishes that are readily available at any street-side noodle stand, but in terms of quality, it's a world apart.

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