10 Films you cannot miss at the 4th Taiwan International Queer Film Festival 2017

By Asian Film Festival on October 21, 2017 • ( 2 Comments )

We present a list of ten films you cannot miss at the 4th Taiwan International Queer Film Festival 2017 that is taking place from October 20th until November 19th, in Taipie, Kaohsiung and Taichung, Taiwan.

Being 17 by André Téchiné – France | 2016 – 116 min.

Damien lives with his mother Marianne, a doctor, while his father is on a tour of duty abroad. He is bullied by Thomas, whose mother is ill. The boys find themselves living together when Marianne invites Thomas to come and stay with them.

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Boys for Sale by Itako – Japan | 2017 – 76 min.

In Tokyo’s Shinjuku district there are bars that specialize in “Urisen”, young guys who have sex with men. Featuring candid interviews and interspersed with animation detailing the awkward, sweet, and sometimes horrifying situations these sex workers experience, the boys for sale boldly tell their stories of life in the Tokyo underground. This documentary is an illuminating look into a rarely seen world that tantalizingly shows the humanity of sex work.

Trailer:

Dream Boat by Tristan F. Milewski – Germany | 2016 – 90 min.

Once a year the DREAM BOAT sets sail for a cruise only for gay men. Far from their families and political restrictions, we follow five men from five countries on the quest for their dreams. The cruise promises seven days of sunshine, love, and freedom – but on board are also their personal stories, their doubts and uncertainties……

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Family Commitments by Hanno Olderdissen – Germany | 2015 – 85 min.

David and Khaled live a relaxed and self-determined life together. They would like to get married but Khaled can’t manage to come out in front of his homophobic Arab father and David is not able to break away from his dominating pseudo-orthodox mother. As if it was not already complicated enough, a pregnant girl shows up at their door, claiming that David is the father.

Trailer:

Jesus is dead (Patay na si Hesus) by Victor Villanueva – Philippines | 2016 – 90 min.

When Iyay learns that Jesus, her estranged husband, has died, she tells her children that they are going on a trip – an inter-island road trip smack in the middle of the Philippines, to be exact. No ifs or buts about it – they are attending their father’s funeral. Her children – Hubert, who has Down Syndrome; Jude, a lovesick trans man; and Jay, who is living the bum life – join her with varying degrees of reluctance as she drives them in her extra-mini minivan. Through one unplanned detour after another, the family comes closer to confronting the past and figuring out how to simply enjoy the ride toward an uncertain future.

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Satyavati: And We Call This Love by Deepthi Tadanki – India | 2016 – 82 min.

“When you are shunned and looked down upon for non-conformance, there is nowhere to go. When your protector has become the threat, there is nowhere to go. When the crime gets legitimized in the grab of tradition, there is nowhere to go”. Satyavati – And we call this love is a story that takes place in today’s time where tenderness & innocence come under attack and all that remains is a scar. And nowhere to go.

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Take me for a ride by Micaela Rueda – Ecuador, Mexico, Colombia | 2016 – 67 min.

Starting her senior year in high school, Sara doesn’t have many friends and is caught between an overbearing mother, and a more understanding father. With uneasiness at school and tension in the household, Sara escapes to smoke in a little alley alone – that is – until Andrea, a new classmate, arrives. A close friendship develops to all that can see, but behind closed doors, an intimate relationship unfolds, which, when discovered, throws everything into disarray.

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Tamara by Elia K. Schneider – Venezuela, Uruguay, Peru | 2016 – 110 min.

A successful lawyer with a wife and two kids finally comes to terms with his visceral desire to become a woman. He is determined to follow his heart, even though this will turn his whole world upside down and put his life at risk. So his trip to gender reassignment begins……

Trailer:

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert by Stephan Elliott – Australia | 1994 – 104 min.

When drag queen Anthony (Hugo Weaving) agrees to take his act on the road, he invites fellow cross-dresser Adam (Guy Pearce) and transsexual Bernadette (Terence Stamp) to come along. In their colorful bus, named Priscilla, the three performers travel across the Australian desert performing for enthusiastic crowds and homophobic locals. But when the other two performers learn the truth about why Anthony took the job, it threatens their act and their friendship.

Trailer:

The Ambiguous Focus by Yvonne Xu – China | 2017 – 115 min.

Adapted from the online novel Mr. & Mr. Zhang, the film tells the story of how a homosexual couple Zhang Nan and Zhang Zhe recovers from betrayal and breakup. Zhe struggles in a life alone after Nan’s affair with his colleague Jimmy led to their breakup. It turns out that everything is a plot designed by Jimmy, but both are too hurt to patch things up when they learn the truth.

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Categories: News

Tagged as: lgbt, lgbtq, Queer, recommendation, taipei, taiwan, TIQFF, TIQFF2017

2 replies »

taiwantrailsandtales says:

October 22, 2017 at 7:13 am

Satyavati: And We Call This Love is on my list if I get time. Last night I saw the Misandrists which was pretty fun, (save for one horrific scene).

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