Where is My Love? (Dir. Jo-Fei Chen, Taiwan, 1996)
Taipei in the 1990s: Ko is a young gay writer who must decide whether or not to remain in the closet. This acclaimed film from 1996, the directorial debut of Chen Jo-fei, a filmmaker who has worked behind the scenes within the Taiwanese film industry including on Edward Yang’s A Brighter Summer Day and Lin Cheng-sheng’s Murmur of Youth, artfully evokes the furtive queer lifestyles of the time while subtly capturing the rhythm of the writing process and the textures of everyday life.
Incidental Journey (Dir. Jo-Fei Chen, Taiwan, 2000)
After breaking up with her girlfriend, student Ching goes on a road trip around Taiwan, encountering Hsiang, a solitary artist. Travelling to a peaceful farm in the mountains, the women contemplate their pasts. A meditative reflection on female desire, Incidental Journey made its mark in Taiwan’s film history, offering a daring and frank portrayal of lesbian love on screen.
A Journey in Spring (Dir. Tzu-Hui Peng, Ping-Wen Wang, Taiwan, 2023) – UK Premiere
Khim-Hok is an elderly man who has come to depend on his wife Siu-Tuan over the years. Absent from their life, however, is their estranged son, whose existence remains largely unspoken. Shot on 16mm film, this feature debut by co-directors Tzu-Hui Peng and Ping-Wen Wang paints a raw and sensitive portrait of domestic life. The film was the recipient of the Best Director at the 71st San Sebastian International Film Festival in 2023.
Looking for an Angel (Dir. Akihiro Suzuki, Japan, 1999)
Takachi, a young gay porn star, is found dead in Tokyo. At his wake, two of his friends, Reiko and Shinpei, recollect their time together, attempting to piece together fragments of Takachi’s life. Interweaving past and present, memories and stories, Looking for an Angel is a quintessential example of Japan’s dynamic queer cinema scene.
My Sunshine (Dir. Hiroshi Okuyama, Japan/France, 2024) – UK Premiere
On a small Japanese island, the young Takuya becomes fascinated with Sakura, a figure skater from Tokyo. Coach and former champion Arakawa spots potential in Takuya, and decides to mentor him to form a duo with Sakura for an upcoming competition. My Sunshine poetically evokes the joy of childhood emotions. Director Hiroshi Okuyama, who collaborated with Hirokazu Kore-eda on the screenplay for his series The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House, offers a subtle critique of the social expectations surrounding gender and sexuality, poetically evoking the joy of childhood emotions and the struggle for acceptance.
