30 Short Films you cannot miss at the 19th Kaohsiung Film Festival (Part 2)

By Asian Film Festival on October 7, 2019 • ( Leave a comment )

We continue with our list of short films you shouldn’t miss at the 19th Kaohsiung Film Festival, which will take place from October 10th – 27th, in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.

About the festival:
The Kaohsiung Film Festival is a film festival held annually in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. Established in 2001, the festival screens both locally produced and international films, in all genres and lengths. The festival also has an international competition section where it hands out awards for outstanding short films. (Wiki)

Nine Shots by Su Chen Hsien – Taiwan | 2019 – 15 minutes
Out of Competition

Ah Fei, a Vietnamese who left home to work in Taiwan, escapes from his Taiwanese employer in hope to earn more money to send back home to his father. One day, he runs into Ah Hai, a police patrol officer, at the beach. Ah Hai sees Ah Fei in possession of syringes and uses the baton on him without giving him a chance to explain. By the beach, nine shots were eventually fired at Ah Fei. It’s the first time Ah Fei’s father is travelling out of Vietnam, only to be bringing home his son’s lifeless body.

Screenings:
October 19th (Saturday) | Kaohsiung Main Public Library 7 | 13:00 pm

NOOREH by Ashish Pandey – India | 2018 – 22 minutes
In Competition

Nestled in the Kashmir valley, lies a small village on the India-Pakistan border, always caught in the crossfire between the two warring nations. One night an eight year old girl ‘Nooreh’ discovers that the gun battle rages when she sleeps and the bloody duel stops when she keeps her eyes open.

Piano Lesson by Yang Yi-Chien – Taiwan | 2018 – 22 minutes
In Competition

In the highly digitalized near future, a pianist travels to a city of Artificial Intelligence and performs a concert with no audience. He is going to find out that a deaf girl, the last human being in the city, is the only one who understands his music.

Prowler by Yaegashi Toshiharu – Japan | 2018 – 12 minutes
Out of Competition

A homeless guy stands in the corner of the city, staring at something. He starts walking, going to one vending machine after another, searching for pennies. When he just needs some coins, he encounters some strange events.

Rising Sun by Cheng Ya-Chi – Taiwan | 2018 – 16 minutes
In Competition

A 500-word news report. A junior high school boy drowned in the local sea. From that day, his mother always sleeps with the television glaring and wakes up with it. One day when she is tidying up the house, she accidentally finds an examination sheet that doesn’t belong to her deceased son. But on this sheet there’s a sketch of her son’s face. Is it a clue her son left for her? Or a love letter from someone else? She wants to know…

Screenwriting WTF by Chen Bo-Zong – Taiwan | 2019 – 26 minutes
Out of Competition

Ashit, young screenwriter struggles to finish his scripts under the pressure to meet the deadline while the characters he creates in the story disturbed him and joked around. Producer keeps denying his scripts, suggesting awful ideas and encouraging him steal ideas from others. Ashit feels frustrated and depressed after compromising himself to the producer’s demands. His dream of being a screenwriter is drifting away.

Screenings:
October 20th (Sunday) | MLD Cinema 6 | 16:20 pm

See You, Sir by Lin Ya Yu – Taiwan | 2019 – 25 minutes
Out of Competition

Yamaha is a cocky and yet caring juvenile offender who has been sent to the juvenile detention house three times. Yamaha takes Sonny, a very young inmate who suffers from domestic violence, under his wing and that gives the boy a sense of belonging in the detention center. Chuan, a new arrival who remains quiet and mysterious, is charged with a serious crime. The trio become roommates on the New Year’s Eve. Acting like a boss, Yamaha tries his best to look after his roommates, drawing the trio closer and closer to each other as a result. However, at the same time, Yamaha realizes that it is getting harder and harder for them to be freed from the criminal world.

Screenings:
October 20th (Sunday) | Kaohsiung Main Public Library 7 | 13:00 pm

The Calling by Tony Chou – Taiwan | 2019 – 25 minutes
In Competition

Ding-You, who plays the role of civil messenger in his GENERAL CLUB, is greatly troubled by the conflict of his family’s expectation and his own dream after high school. Despite of his friend’s constant support, he must deal with the problem among his father, his god and himself.

The Child of Nowhere by Dio Wang – Taiwan | 2019 – 25 minutes
Out of Competition

An orphanage of various sounds. An ocean without witness of the crowds. The child of nowhere, longing for returning home.

Screenings:
October 19th (Saturday) | Kaohsiung Main Public Library 7 | 13:00 pm

The Distant Light by Utsuno Tatsuya – Japan | 2018 – 20 minutes
Out of Competition

A widowed man, who has lost his wife in the middle of a suburban village on the mountain, lives with his daughter and mother. As always, his mother observes the snowy scenery while he and his daughter go hunting throughout the day. One day, the daughter gets lost in the mountain and his deceased wife shows up. A strange night ensues.

The Moon Is Bright Tonight by Abinash Bikram Shah – Nepal | 2018 – 16 minutes
In Competition

A dead body of a migrant worker arrives in a remote village of Nepal. Tattini, now a widow, plans to start a new life with her dead husband’s life insurance money, away from the shackles of the conservative society she lives in. But her lonely father-in-law, determined to stop her, claiming the money belongs to the village as per tradition and demands for darrkhana, their traditional hot iron ritual.

The Palace On The Sea by Wu Ke-Xi – Taiwan | 2013 – 15 minutes
Out of Competition

A boat is anchored in the harbor. A ghost of a woman who came from afar has been lingering nearby, searching for the way home. It looks as if she had escaped; but once again, she gets imprisoned in her memories. Chanting of the Buddhist scriptures is heard. The lover in her previous life becomes a monk in this life. He chants the scripture as he guides her and other suffering souls to the next world

Screenings:
October 25th (Friday) | Kaohsiung Film Archive 3F 3 | 19:00 pm
October 27th (Sunday) | Kaohsiung Film Archive 3F 3 | 11:30 am

The Sound of Falling by Lin Chien-Yu – Taiwan, Colombia, UK | 2018 – 13 minutes
In Competition

An impressionistic film portraying the lost of freedom and the fading of life through a decision an orchardist of a tangerine farm made in his ordinary day.

Tiptoe by Lin I-ji – Taiwan | 2019 – 16 minutes
In Competition

It has been almost a week since mother left home. The ten-year-old girl Jiajia and her seven-year-old brother Kai try to follow their mother’s daily routines while waiting for her to come back. Jiajia tries to maintain the usual daily lives with Kai, but it has not been easy for her.

When The Silence Comes by Huang Liang-Hsin – Taiwan, UK | 2018 – 3 minutes
In Competition

There are always some moments when you don’t want to say a word. The world is silent and you turn silent.

To see the second part of this article please go here: PART 1
To see the Feature Films we recommend for this festival please go here: FEATURE FILMS

For more information about the programme please visit the official website of the festival: Kaohsiung Film Festival