These are twelve films you shouldn’t miss at the Kaohsiung Film Festival which will take place from October 14 – 30, 2022.

Kai, whose father used to be a national boxer and uncle teaches boxing at school, is fond of boxing. Kai and his uncle have, nevertheless, secretly participated in competitions though he is strictly forbidden to do so, and eventually lead to a cruel and contradictory outcome. (Kaohsiung 2022)

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Yang San-eii has never owned a home, nor does he plan to join the debt game now. At the age of 50, he decides instead to construct one with his own energy and time, and opts for traditional Japanese-style carpentry that omits the need for nails.

In his mind, the Yang family house will stand tall for a century, but during the decades-long construction, his family’s livelihood is solely dependent on his wife, who is propping up the restaurant alone. The Yangs and their daughters are now the focus of community gossip.

Chatter aside, the sorest point of stress is economical. With no end in sight, the project’s limbo status has led the two daughters to leave home for work and love. These structural changes, as well as other interpretations of belonging, challenge Yang’s sense of mission.

A man with a broken childhood, will Yang be able to complete his dream home and secure a future for his family? (Kaohsiung 2022)

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Kuo-lun’s family returns home for the funeral of his grandmother, who was killed in a car accident. Having not spoken with his family in a long time, Kuo-lun comes home as a trans woman. Then, he finds out the person who killed his grandmother was his first love. Besides facing his father, who is unwilling to accept him, he also has to deal with financial entanglements between relatives and their complicated past. Yet, he still wants to see his grandmother one last time. (Kaohsiung 2022)

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Aspiring AV actresses Liz Ai Ai and Berry fail to break into the industry and somehow end up joining a wrestling club, where they use their AV-style “special moves” to rise to superstardom. Starring Kimi HSIA, Gemma WU and Tiara HUANG, with stunts directed by Japanese wrestling promotion Stardom, this is a comedy about the struggles and tears behind the pursuit of dreams. (Kaohsiung 2022)

Xiao Lan’s first sexual experience is at the beach, with a football jock in her school. Just like many girls in this situation, Xiao Lan thinks she can gain his love with her body. Inevitably, that boy leaks a photo of her in a sexually compromising position online. Xiao Lan’s entire world collapses. Alone without anyone to help, she turns to comfort from men on the internet… (Kaohsiung 2022)

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Hung is an eight-year-old boy still coping with the death of his mother. Whenever he feels distraught, Hung retreats to the roof to be alone and watches the night sky. One night, he witnesses a meteor shower with an errant falling star hitting the ground in the distance. At the crash site, he discovers an alien girl named Maika. As Hung helps Maika find her friend and get back to her home, she inadvertently helps Hung make new friends and mend his broken heart. But danger lurks everywhere, as Hung is not the only one who knows of his new alien friend… (Kaohsiung 2022)

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Tsukasa Naruse works as a detective. He is enthusiastic about his job. To catch criminals, he sometimes breaks rules that detectives should follow. Tsukasa Naruse works on a voice phishing case that targets elderly people. He targets a suspect without a warrant. Due to this, Tsukasa Naruse gets transferred to the police musical band. (Kaohsiung 2022)

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To 18-year old Kang-yi, her friends So-young and Ah-ram are everything. Wanting to go somewhere foreign, she runs away from home with them, only to find a strange side of themselves and the balance of their friendship tipping in a weird way. Although they left home as one, they eventually return home as three. Kang-yi wants nothing more than to go back to how they once were, but that’s easier said than done…(Kaohsiung 2022)

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After the death of his beloved wife, novelist Aoki Takeshi takes his son to Seoul, intending to stay with his long-lost brother Toru and start a new life. His brother was betrayed by his business partner and lost everything, leaving him to start from scratch. Aoki meets a struggling singer named Choi Seol, embroiled in a relationship with the controlling president of her talent agency. Despite the language barrier and what they’ve been through in their lives, Aoki and Choi somehow form a bond. The two ill-fated families come together naturally and embark on a new journey of healing… (Kaohsiung 2022)

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Don’t you dare mess with me!

Hye-yeong turns 20 soon. She may seem delicate and pretty, but the dragon tattoo on her arm can sure scare people off. Her only problem is her father, Bon-jin, a gambling addict who once lost all their money and even deserted the family. He later opened a Chinese restaurant on the outskirts of Seoul, and it’s now regularly packed with diners. Hye-yeong still can’t forgive him, but the only reason she stays with her family is her little brother, Hye-jeok. He reminds her of her childhood and he’s considerate like their late mother.

One day, Bon-jin is found unconscious in hospital, having allegedly assaulted someone, stolen a car, and hit two innocent people. Hye-yeong doesn’t even feel sorry for him, but strangely, she receives several anonymous calls from people who want to talk to her father. And a couple suddenly shows up at the father’s restaurant, saying they will take it over from Bon-jin in two weeks. On top of that, Bon-jin’s condition rapidly worsens and now is brain dead. What happened to him? (Kaohsiung 2022)

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In a park on a rainy evening, a 19-year-old university student, Fumi, offers an umbrella to a soaking wet 10-year-old girl, Sarasa. Realizing her reluctance to go home, Fumi lets her stay at his place, where she spends the next two months in peace. They take each other’s hands and seem to have finally found their place in the world until Fumi is arrested for kidnapping. Fifteen years later, they are reunited but still suffering from the stigma as the victim and perpetrator of “a pedophile case”. Will society give a place to the unshakable bond they have formed? (Kaohsiung 2022)

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While roaming a bookstore, high student Jun comes across his female classmate and notices that she is looking at male homoerotic fantasy graphic novels. The girl wants her taste and preference kept a secret. They agree and become close friends. She professes her love for him. They begin to date, but he is gay.

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