Days (日子), a new film by Taiwan-based Malaysian director Tsai Ming-liang (蔡明亮), has been selected for the upcoming New York Film Festival, the festival’s organizers said on Thursday.
The festival, which runs from Sept. 17 to Oct. 11, released a statement announcing its lineup of 25 feature films from 19 countries.
Days follows the daily lives of two solitary men — played by Tsai’s long-time muse Lee Kang-sheng (李康生) and first-time actor Anong Houngheuangsy, a young Laotian immigrant to Thailand — whose lives converge in a brief romantic encounter, according to the festival Web site.
The film ranks among “the most cathartic” of Tsai’s works, and is “constructed with the director’s customary brilliance at visual composition and shot through with profound empathy,” the festival said.
Days premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February, where it received a Teddy Award, which honors films with an LGBT focus.
The film’s US premiere, scheduled in April at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, was ultimately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In light of the crowd-size restrictions, the festival’s screenings would be held either in drive-in theaters or virtually, the statement said.
Following the announcement, Tsai on Facebook thanked the MoMA for allowing Days to premiere at the festival, adding that “each film has its own destiny.”
The noncompetitive New York Film Festival is held annually at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
In addition to between 20 and 30 feature-length films, the festival also includes documentaries, experimental movies and holds retrospectives.
Days is Tsai’s fifth film to be shown at the festival, following What Time is it There? in 2001, Goodbye, Dragon Inn in 2003, Stray Dogs in 2013 and Your Face in 2018.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New