Vancouver TAIWANfest describes itself as “a festival that wildly encourages dialogue.” But when it comes to gender, there are often many reasons not to talk about it. To save face, to protect the bigger picture, to keep family harmony, or simply to avoid discomfort. When words feel difficult, could film offer another way into the conversation? Through moving images, documentaries, and the intimate realities of individual lives, these works bring us closer to one another. Before rushing to say yes or no, we invite you to first sit with the complexity, diversity, and beauty of being human. Special thanks to our film selectors: Nathalie CHANG(CHANG Yi-Hsum) (Novelist), Rachel (Guitarist, P!SCO), Ted LIAO (Chef, Monsoon), Charlie SMITH (Editor, Pancouver), and Luna (TAIWANfest team).
AuthorTAIWANfest Vancouver 溫哥華台灣節被笑稱是「讓台灣人都看不懂的台灣節」，因為不甘願只是一場文化展示，每年堅持都要與一個國家對話，在台灣、加拿大與世界之間挖掘故事、認識彼此，也探究共同未來。 More than a cultural festival, TAIWANfest serves as a platform for dialogue. Through films, culinary programs, performances, and conversations with communities from around the world, the festival creates space to explore shared histories, cultural connections, and the possibilities of a collective future.
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.
