On July 22, the 82nd Venice International Film Festival announced that the film “Girl (女孩),” the directorial debut of renowned actress Shu Qi (舒淇), has been selected for its main competition, vying for the prestigious Golden Lion.
The Ministry of Culture (MOC) noted that this marks the first time in 12 years a Taiwanese film has entered the festival’s main competition, following Tsai Ming-liang’s (蔡明亮) “Stray Dogs (郊遊)” in 2013.
In addition, Joe Hsieh’s (謝文明) animated short “Praying Mantis (螳螂)” has been selected for the Orizzonti Short Films Competition, making it the first-ever Taiwanese entry in this category. Six Taiwanese or Taiwan co-produced works—“The Clouds are Two Thousand Meters Up (雲在兩千米),” “Dark Rooms,” “Sense of Nowhere,” “Blur (之間),” “La Magie Opéra (魔幻歌劇院),” and “The Shadow (影子)”—have been selected for the Venice Immersive Competition.
“Happy Shadow (快樂的陰影)” was selected for the Biennale College Cinema Immersive - Out of Competition section, while Tsai Ming-liang’s “Back Home (回家)” will screen in the Out of Competition - Non-fiction category. His iconic “Vive l’amour (愛情萬歲)” has been selected for Venice Classics.
Minister of Culture Li Yuan congratulated all filmmakers whose works have garnered international acclaim, encouraging the public to support Taiwan’s movies. He also affirmed the MOC’s continued commitment to nurturing the film industry and fostering a more robust filmmaking environment in Taiwan.
