Festival Special: Taiwan International Documentary Festival

Founded in 1998, Taiwan International Documentary Festival (TIDF) is organised by the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute in Taipei. Following the 14th edition held in May, 2024, the 2024-2025 TIDF on Tour has embarked upon the journey to different cities and venues around Taiwan with its handpicked programmes. Instead of limiting these screenings to Taiwan, we aim to share them with a global audience. TIDF proudly presents 12 acclaimed titles from the latest festival edition, featured in the Asian Vision and Taiwan competition sections, as well as the TIDF Visionary Award.

Winning the Special Prize in the Asian Vision competition, Damnatio Memoriae casts its gaze on the darker side of pan-Asian history being used by the world's superpowers as a geo-political chess board. Special Mention title Song of Souls gives voice to an ethnic group, allowing them to share their lived experience during a civil war largely overlooked by the world. Saving a Dragonfly offers an intimate glimpse into the struggles of teenage girls, reflecting the pressures of a rapidly changing society in South Korea.

On another note, the life philosophy presented in Flickering Lights illuminates days before the advent of electricity with a simple firelight. If disease represents a kind of distance, Self-Portrait: 47 KM 2020 invites us to accompany a village in its tranquil existence. Confronting the roots of bloodline, I Look Into the Mirror and Repeat to Myself expresses deep feelings with identity in a courageous manner.

In recent years, documentary filmmaking in Taiwan has seen a surge in creativity. Some films, through rigorous fieldwork, accumulate a resilient force; some films use innovative aesthetic approaches, allowing the stories to navigate between fiction and reality. In the end, understanding others and bearing witness to time become the source of documentary filmmaking; modern fables are woven like this.

Winning the Jury Prize of Taiwan competition, Diamond Marine World intertwines ambitions, dreams, and hopes in a profound journey from Taiwan to Myanmar, reevaluating the values of living between two distinct cultures. Reflecting on a shocking immigrant death, And Miles to Go Before I Sleep evokes the essence of a vibrant life through gentle poetry. Through the lens of framing characters in multiple spaces and scenes, The Clinic uses illness as an entry point to intricately reveal the tumultuous and panic-stricken social reality, winning the Grand Prize of TIDF Visionary Award.

Utilising objects to convey rich historical and cultural narratives, A Performance in the Church invites us to view archaeology in both scientific and poetic terms. Resisting the capitalist art market, All and Nothing explores the intricate life of late conceptual artist Li Yuan-chia. Through diaries, videos, artworks, and friendships, it seeks to uncover a spiritual legacy while witnessing the passing of an era. From silence to opening up, A Holy Family navigates the delicate balance between questioning faith and nurturing familial bonds, presenting a compelling dilemma of relationships.

All the films are available to stream for free throughout the first week (October 14 - 20), and the programme ends on Sunday, November 3.