I remember the summer break of my sophomore year—because I took over organizing our department’s cinema festival, I decided to stay in the school dorm all summer, immersing myself in a personal, sensory journey of film appreciation. One afternoon in the campus library, I randomly picked up Tsai Ming-liang’s The River. To my surprise, it quietly and calmly depicted the atypical family experiences I had kept buried deep inside. That film stayed with me—a teenager full of anxiety about life, unsure whether I could truly take responsibility for myself—through those idle, languid summer days. Back then, there was no fiber-optic internet, no AI-powered smartphones. Just light and shadow, casting a humorous yet absurd gaze upon the hardships of reality. So here I am, recommending this film—let yourself sink into the dreamscape of its story, and let it echo the realism of our own lives.
Author登曼波登曼波，本名楊登棋，出生於臺中東勢大家庭。在封閉的小鎮中成長，由於非常態家庭成長背景，擁有了相對自由的環境，隔代教養亦促使其自年少時便開始獨立自主、構建自我。2019年以《父親的錄影帶》榮獲北美獎首獎，從 90 年代發現父親的自拍錄影帶而察覺其性傾向，開啟對於「父親」身份定義的重新理解，並呼應當下外界的變化。慾望驅使他創作，不斷地由內而外探索自己與所存在的環境，向當代提出對話，近期成立從個展「居家娛樂 HomePleasure 」延伸成立「HomoPleasure Collective 」非營利的酷兒藝術創作組織，致力於通過策展，跨國倡議推廣多元族群創作當代藝術，活動範圍涵蓋展覽、出版、和活動等拭去二元，持續以推進台灣之於亞洲之於國際得身份認同的反思。
Taiwan has long since become the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, and LGBTQ+ lives seem to be increasingly woven into everyday life. Yet, when we turn our gaze to Asia’s mainstream media and cinema, where are the stories of lesbian women? The love left unspoken, the relationships that defy definition, and the intimacies that blur the line between friendship and romance—are they still hidden beyond the frame? And when lesbian women do appear on screen, how often are their stories truly told from their own perspectives? This time, through a collection of films, we summon those who have always been there, yet have rarely been seen. “I summon you by this name. Reveal yourself.”
The Taiwan Film Festival of Boston is dedicated to showcasing Taiwan’s diverse cultures and social landscapes through cinema while fostering meaningful exchange between Taiwanese filmmakers and North American audiences. Since 2011, the New Taipei City Documentary Film Award has supported documentary filmmaking and encouraged creators to engage with their times, capturing lived experiences and social realities through the moving image. Together, the two organizations present this virtual film festival, featuring outstanding works from past editions of the Taiwan Film Festival of Boston and the New Taipei City Documentary Film Award. By bringing Taiwanese stories of ecology, culture, identity, and coming of age beyond geographical boundaries, this collaboration invites audiences around the world to discover Taiwan through the lens of documentary filmmaking and engage in cross-cultural dialogue. Through the power of documentary cinema, the festival seeks to foster greater cross-cultural understanding, celebrate the creativity and vitality of Taiwan’s documentary tradition, and strengthen connections between New Taipei City, Taiwanese filmmakers, and international film communities. New Taipei City Documentary Award Section Title | Habitats of Life Envisioning a Sustainable Future Where People and the Environment Thrive Together From oceans and forests to where Indigenous communities and cities meet, life seeks ways to survive, grow, and belong. Where the Bees Belong, Hearing from the Dolphin, The Elimination, A Tayal, and Childhood In Between explore ecological conservation, wildlife conditions, cultural heritage, and identity, revealing complex relationships between people, nature, and society. As habitats shift and generations change, each story shows how life responds to environmental and social challenges while seeking new possibilities for coexistence. Echoing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this program invites audiences to reconsider habitat not only as a physical place, but also as an ecological, cultural, and emotional home—and to imagine a more diverse, inclusive, and sustainable future. The online screenings held in collaboration with the New Taipei City Documentary Film Awards concluded successfully on October 11. Some films have been taken offline as scheduled. We invite you to continue enjoying the other outstanding films available on the platform!
“Lu-se” (魯蛇, Taiwanese internet slang borrowed from the English word “loser”) seems to have become a dead word. You rarely hear anyone say it anymore, and I’m not sure why. I don’t think the term can be understood simply as the English “loser.” In the way it’s used in Taiwan, it seems to carry a touch of self-deprecating humor, and that’s a quality I really love. The films above are the ones that, to me, have that feeling.
