The struggle for democracy is one of a number of themes that will be showcased at Dalston’s Rio Cinema this November, as it hosts part two of the Taiwan Film Festival UK.
With a central theme “Wounded but Healed”, the programme offers a Taiwanese perspective on global issues such as democracy, labour rights and the climate crisis.
“Being an immigrant in the UK, I’ve been regularly asked what Taiwan is,” said Festival curator and filmmaker Aephie Chen. “I had to study not only the film history of Taiwan, but also our political past. I learnt how fragile the concept of democracy is in East Asia.”
The Price of Democracy chronicles 40 years of democratisation in Taiwan through the lenses of two octogenarian activists, who have sacrificed family in their bid for freedom.
Also featuring at the Festival is a rare interview with Lam Wing-Kee, one of five Hong Kong booksellers detained in 2015 after selling writings critical of Beijing.
Lam will lead an online book club discussion, which will screen in both English and Mandarin.
“I hope more people in the UK become familiar with Taiwanese cinema through our programmes,” said Chen. “And I hope we can bridge financing to do co-productions in the near future, so we can share the passion of making films together.”
Following part one which ran in March, Taiwan Film Festival UK part two will kick off online via the cinema’s e-platform Rio Player on November 28.
If lockdown restrictions ease from the beginning of December, Rio will also run socially-distanced screenings over the next two weekends.
More information on the Festival, which runs from 28 November – 12 December, can be found here while tickets can be purchased via Rio Cinema’s website.
