Turkey is showing a Taiwanese film for the first time. Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien’s The Assassin was shown at the Istanbul Independent Film Festival in February.
The showing of the film was part of the effort by Taiwan’s culture ministry and the representative office in Turkey to promote Taiwan’s culture in the West Asian country.
A faculty member of Turkey’s Bilkent University Ahmet Gurata was invited to speak at the screening. Gurata spoke of the film winning awards at the Cannes Film Festival in France and several Asian film festivals. He also went on to introduce Taiwan’s development in the film industry and the works of Taiwan’s world renowned directors, including Hou and US-based director Ang Lee.
Taiwan and Turkey have grown closer not only in cultural exchange but also in tourism and business. Turkish Airlines began direct flights to Taiwan last March and Taiwan’s EVA Air followed suit this March.