2021 Berlin Taiwan Film Festival kicks off online on August 20, showing portraits of Taiwanese diversity

According to the Ministry of Culture website, the "Berlin Taiwan Film Festival" (柏林台灣影展) hosted by Impression Taiwan (映像台灣) is entering its fourth edition this year, and 16 films will be screened starting from August 20th. Since it was changed to an online film festival last year, it has touched more audiences. In 2021, it was decided to continue the online screening so that German fans can enjoy the film festival at home. It will debut from August 20th to 29th, and 16 works will be screened and is the largest scale since the establishment of the film festival.

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The diversity of Taiwanese people are shown in the film festival. Photo/Provided by Berlin Taiwan Film Festival

The curator Lin Chie-ying (林婕穎) stated that the theme of the 2021 film festival is "Portraits of Taiwanese Diversity” (台灣人的多樣面貌) and it is hoped that by focusing on the profiling of various Taiwanese characters, it will show the diverse cultural backgrounds of Taiwan, and in turn explore the emotional attachments to the land. It is hoped that the four major sections will complement each other and are intended to illustrate the philosophical thinking and self-exploration of Taiwanese people and transcend geographical boundaries to allow German audiences gain a deeper understanding of Taiwan’s multifaceted society through imageries.

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"Berlin Taiwan Film Festival" is the largest Taiwanese art event in Europe. Photo/Provided by Berlin Taiwan Film Festival

The four major sections of this year's film festival selections are "Road to Freedom: Human Rights in Taiwan," "Portraits of Artists," "The Explorer: Yearn for Travel" and the short film section "Gastarbeiter in Taiwan: Short Films collage". Moreover, there will also be four directors' seminars. On August 10, a human rights seminar will be held, wherein Malaysian director Kek Huat Lau (廖克發) and senior German journalist Klaus Bardenhagen (白德瀚) in Taiwan will be invited to talk about migrant workers and human rights demands.