In celebration of Pride Month and the fifth anniversary of same-sex marriage legalization, the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (TFAI) will feature From Outsiders to Pride, five specially selected films representing Taiwanese LGBT+ culture from different eras and perspectives.
The notable Outcasts (孽子), released in 1986 as the first gay-themed Chinese film ever made, not only pioneered LGBT+ films in Taiwan, but also developed the narrative imagination of multi-ethnic groups in video works. Director Kan-Ping Yu’s (虞戡平) adaptation of writer Kenneth Hsien-yung Pai’s (白先勇) Crystal Boys (孽子) has been digitally restored for its return to the big screen 38 years later.
Director Ang Lee's (李安) 1993 film The Wedding Banquet (囍宴), winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, explores traditional Chinese ethics and the cultural differences between Eastern and Western marriages. The 1997 drama The River (河流) directed by Malaysian filmmaker based in Taiwan Ming-liang Tsai (蔡明亮), Director Zero Chou’s (周美玲)
2001 film Corner’s (私角落), and the 2004 romcom Formula 17 (十七歲的天空) directed by Chen Yin-Jung (陳映蓉) showcase the progress of Taiwan’s LGBT+ movement.
TFAI stated that in contemporary Taiwan, From Outsiders to Pride can be said to be proof of the country’s social atmosphere transformation. It said it hopes to lead the audience to re-explore how the “Outcasts” left their dark corners, faced the sky, and wrote a new chapter for gender equality in Taiwan. The special film feature will run from October 10 to 27.