Five Taiwanese films have been selected to be screened at the London East Asia Film Festival (LEAFF), which starts today and runs through Sunday next week.
The five films are Chung Mong-hong’s (鍾孟宏) The Falls (瀑布), Edward Yang’s (楊德昌) Taipei Story (青梅竹馬), Chen Yu-hsun’s (陳玉勳) My Missing Valentine (消失的情人節), Chang Yao-sheng’s (張耀升) A Leg (腿) and Ko Chien-nien’s (柯貞年) The Silent Forest (無聲).
Chung presented a story from a female perspective for the first time in The Falls, which was selected for the Orizzonti competition at this year’s Venice Film Festival, the Ministry of Culture said on Tuesday.
The film, an intimate drama about the shifting relationship between a mother and daughter set against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, would be making its British premiere at LEAFF on Saturday, the festival program shows.
As part of LEAFF’s retrospective selection, Taipei Story would be screening on Tuesday next week. First released in 1985, the film is considered an important part of the Taiwanese New Wave movement, the ministry said.
The romantic comedy My Missing Valentine, which won five awards at last year’s Golden Horse Awards, would be making its London debut on Wednesday next week.
Meanwhile, A Leg, which is included in the LEAFF’s competition lineup, is making its European premiere on Saturday next week.
Starring Gwei Lun-mei (桂綸鎂) and Tony Yang (楊祐寧), the dark comedy is Chang’s directorial debut, the ministry said.
Inspired by real events on a school campus, Ko’s first feature film, The Silent Forest, is making its London premiere on Oct. 31, the ministry said.
LEAFF is the largest Asian film festival in the UK, the ministry said, adding that the five Taiwanese films are among 34 that are to be shown at the event.
LEAFF is one of the main platforms through which British audiences gain an understanding of developments in East Asian cinema, said Chen Pin-chuan (陳斌全), director of the Cultural Division at the Taipei Representative Office in the UK.
Festival director Hye-Jung Jeon said she looked forward to the festival program bringing audiences back to theaters, and facilitating understanding and connections across different cultures.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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