Zurich cinemas will show Taiwanese classic films after three years of preparation

The Swiss tba film association (瑞士tba電影協會) is planning a Taiwan-themed film festival, which will screen 20 classic Taiwanese films at the Filmpodium Cinema in Zurich, Switzerland from July 3rd.

The festival will include works by internationally renowned directors such as Yang Te-Chang’s (Edward Yang) "Story of Time", Hou Hsiao-Hsien's "A City of Sadness", Ang Lee's (Li An) "Pushing Hands" and other internationally renowned directors, as well as "Vengeance of the Phoenix Sisters", "Siao Yu", "Legend of the Sacred Stone", "Goodbye, Dragon Inn", and other classic films.

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The Ministry of Culture has been preparing for three years, and Taiwanese classic films will now be shown in Zurich cinemas. Photo/provided by the Ministry of Culture

The Cultural Division of the Taipei Representative Office in Germany (駐德文化組) stated that Mr. Lorenzo Berardelli, the curator of the Swiss tba Film Association, has great enthusiasm and interest in Taiwanese films. In 2018, he took the initiative to contact the Taipei Representative office in Switzerland (駐瑞士代表處) for loans and subsidies from the Ministry of Culture (文化部) for a full set Taiwanese films to conduct curatorial research on Taiwan film exhibition. Due to the huge financial resources required for the Taiwan-themed film festival, and after contacting film venues, it was finally decided to work with Filmpodium Cinemas this (2021) year.

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Taiwanese classic films are close to real life and touches on history. Photo/provided by the Ministry of Culture

Unlike the heavy action of Hong Kong movies or the epic aesthetics of Chinese movies, the themes of Taiwanese movies are closer to ordinary people's lives, sometimes showing the dark history of the past and reinterpret them. The film festival not only introduces the works of Taiwanese directors that have gained international prestige, but also introduces cutting-edge Taiwanese directors to the Swiss audience. The selected films show Taiwan through years and decades. Aside from watching the film itself, the audience can also get a glimpse of the historical and social background of Taiwan at that time.