21st Kaohsiung Film Festival – Film Recommendation

By Asian Film Festival on October 11, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

These are 6 films you shouldn’t miss a the 21st Kaohsiung Film Festival which will take place online and in cinemas from October 15th – 31st, 2021 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

– Recommended Films –

**Aristocrats** by Sode Yukiko – Japan | 2020 – 125 minutes

Hanako is born to sheltered privilege in Tokyo. After a round of unsuccessful arranged-marriage meetings and blind dates, she meets the lawyer Koichiro. Miki, on the other hand, works in Tokyo but was born in a small town. At 32, she is managing to eke out a living in the big city. The two women encounter each other over the same man, and their different worlds come into contact. The story depicts life in the metropolis for two women of different social classes.

Screening Dates:
October 22nd, 2021 | Friday | Kaohsiung Film Archive 3F | 22:30 pm
Available online from October 15th – 31st, 2021

Trailer:

**Born to be human** by Lily Ni – Taiwan | 2021 – 105 minutes

A 14-year-old boy Yang Shi-Nan is diagnosed as Disorders of Sex Development, usually known as intersex, and has to undergo “sex reassignment surgery” before moving to a new city with her/his parents. Can Yang Shi-Lan/Yang Shi- Nan truly embrace her/his transformation?

Screening Dates:
October 17th, 2021 | Sunday | Kaohsiung Film Archive 3F | 14:00 pm
Available online from October 18th – 31st, 2021

Trailer:

**Dead & Beautiful** by David Verbeek – Taiwan | 2021 – 100 minutes

After a wild night, a group of young wealthy friends wake up from their drunken stupor with a freakish discovery: each of them has grown a pair of fangs – vampire teeth. The discovery changes the course of their lives and drives a wedge between them all. It dawns on the group that they can no longer trust each other. Nobody can be sure of what this vampire business is all about – or, for that matter, if any of this is even real.

Screening Dates:
October 16th, 2021 | Saturday | Kaohsiung Main Public Library | 18:10 pm

Trailer:

**Taste of Wild Tomato** by Lau Kek-Huat – Taiwan | 2021 – 123 minutes

Kaohsiung served as an important military base under Japanese rule. It suffered heavy casualties during the 228. Incident, in which the civilians were brutally suppressed. The film shows how each individual is surviving and sustaining their memories through the different eras of oppression. To this day, memories of it still live in some people and places as well as the wild tomatoes that are grown in this land.

Trailer:

**The Devil Wears Juni-Hitoe Kimono** by Kuroki Hitomi – Japan | 2020 – 112 minutes

Rai, a frustrated student and part-time labourer, finds himself mysteriously time-slipped into the Heian period, the setting for the classic novel The Tale of Genji. Armed with a pamphlet on the history of the period and a bottle of headache tablets, he passes as an onmyoji (magical protector of the capital) and is hired by the emperor’s wife Nyogo Kokiden, who plots to have her son take over the Emperor’s position. This light-hearted historical fantasy is a treat for lovers of sumptuous kimono.

Screening Dates:
Available online from October 15th – 31st, 2021

Trailer:

**Three Sisters** by Lee Seung-won – South Korea | 2020 – 115 minutes

My dear messed-up sisters, why do we all end up like this? The three sisters are struggling with their own problems. Hee-sook, Mrs. Sorry, is neglected by her family. Mi-yeon, Mrs. Devout, witnesses her husband having an affair. And Mi-ok, Mrs. Hysteric, is just weird, always drunk and frustrated with life. The sisters are going to gather for their father’s birthday. What will happen? We will see when the day comes.

Screening Dates:
Available online from October 15th – 31st, 2021

Trailer: