In the month of 9/11 in the early 2000s, graphic design master Milton Glaser, creator of "I ❤️ NY," powerfully expressed the hopeful and fearless spirit of New Yorkers with a new poster: "I ❤️ NY MORE THAN EVER." The magic of New York's spirit captivated me, drawing me to move to the city two years later. In 2005, I lived in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, across the river—a dreamland for hippies and artists. Shepard Fairey's graffiti adorned the streets, and at night, for just five dollars, you could slip through a small door into a food warehouse by the river to hear all sorts of wild music performances. At that time, there was no social media, and artists expressed themselves to the world in a very pure way. Banksy secretly hung his work in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, only to be discovered by security two hours later. Marina Abramović and her partner Ulay finally gazed into each other's eyes amidst the sprawling queues at MoMA. After Alexander McQueen passed away, "Savage Beauty" at the Metropolitan Museum became a city-wide sensation. These slightly aged, yet fortunately experienced, New York moments—their initial shock and emotion—have been permanently sealed as scenes, shaping my future attitude towards art and design.
Author劉耕名Bito創辦人暨創意總監，為國際 Motion Design 指標人物，以金馬獎、金點獎和世大運的傑出視覺貢獻和亞洲文化原創觀點，在全球激發極高能見度，更帶領團隊兩度奪得英國D&AD最高榮譽黃鉛筆獎。近年持續實驗性跨域探索，希望改寫設計與體驗，人類與科技交會的邊界。
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.
