The Ministry of Culture on Thursday outlined plans for this year’s Taiwan Culture in Europe initiative, with arts events in more than 10 European countries highlighting Taiwan’s commitment to human rights.
This year’s program builds on the momentum of last year and aims to showcase Taiwan’s diverse cultural identity through high-profile film festivals, academic collaborations and live performances, the ministry said in a statement.
Cinema anchors the yearlong initiative, which started at the One World International Human Rights Film Festival in March, where Taiwan was represented by the documentaries SPI (烤火房的一些夢) and Slave Island (奴隸島), along with the feature film Yen and Ai-Lee (小雁與吳愛麗).
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Culture
Yesterday, the ministry-supported Queer East Festival opened with the 4K premiere of director Yu Kan-ping’s (虞戡平) The Outsiders (孽子), featuring restored footage previously cut by martial law-era censors.
Taiwanese films are also slated to appear at the Helsinki International Film Festival, Germany’s MOVE IT! Human Rights Film Festival and WATCH DOCS International Human Rights Film Festival later in the year, the Ministry of Culture said, although specific titles have yet to be announced.
Beyond film, highlights include “Walking with Taiwan” at Vytautas Magnus University in Lithuania, which took place last month, a Taiwan cultural festival hosted by KU next month, and “Taiwan Export,” a literature program organized with the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations in August.
In September, the National Cultural Association of Taiwan is to launch a “Taiwan Day” European tour featuring the MeimageDance troupe, Taipei Gong Le Xuan and the Lei Sheng traditional arts group.
The tour is to visit Austria, Poland and Hungary, blending contemporary dance with traditional Taiwanese temple fair elements to strengthen cultural ties with central Europe, the ministry said.
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