The 2022 Taiwan International Documentary Festival (TIDF) is set to showcase what could be the biggest retrospective of Philippine cinema ever shown outside the Philippines, the organizer said in a statement released Friday.
Titled “Necessary Fictions: Negotiating Realities in Post-national Philippine Documentaries,” the central program of the 2022 TIDF, will be a comprehensive retrospective of Philippine cinema, featuring 46 films, organized in 11 sub-themes and 32 directors that span 40 years of Philippine cinematic history, the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute said.
The selection of works showcase independent Philippine cinema in all its diversity by exploring Filipino history, culture, folklore, religion, ethnicity and geography, presenting multiple realities that go far beyond the impression of a single country, the institute said.
The extensive section — possibly the biggest retrospective of Philippine cinema ever shown outside the Philippines — will also offer a glimpse into the creative trajectory of independent Philippine cinema through online forums and screenings, it added.
Furthermore, many internationally renowned directors are also featured in the program section, including Venice Film Festival Golden Lion winner Lav Diaz, Cannes Film Festival Short Film Golden Palm Award winner Raymond Red, and the “Father of Filipino Independent Cinema” Kidlat Tahimik, the institute said.
One of the films, “Why Is Yellow the Middle of the Rainbow?” (1994) by Tahimik uses the rainbow as a metaphor for the changes in the Philippines, reflecting on the relationship between the individual and country, and thus providing a new interpretation to the term “Third World Cinema,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, “Basal Banar (Sacred Ritual of Truth)” (2002) documents the return of Manila-based indigenous director Auraeus Solito to his hometown on Palawan Island to learn about his own culture.
The program is jointly planned with independent Philippine curator and film programmer Merv Espina, according to the institute.
TIDF Programme Director Wood Lin (???) said Espina chose the term “Necessary Fictions” to sum up the powerful and creative works, which are representative of aesthetic choices that filmmakers had to make in the face of harsh reality.
“A retrospective like this, which includes classics and unusual pieces, outstanding works of activism, experimental and documentary films, completely liberates the meaning of cinema,” Lin said.
As a once colonized island like Taiwan, the Philippines has been ruled by Spain and the United States, and its religions include Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, and indigenous beliefs, giving filmmakers important subjects based on identity and national memory.
“Although the Philippines and Taiwan are close in geographical distance and similar in historical development, they are quite distant culturally,” Lin said.
The 2022 TIDF, the 13th edition of the festival, will be held from May 6-15 at the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute, SPOT Huashan, View Show Cinemas Taipei Qsquare, and the C-LAB.
Founded in 1998, the TIDF is one of the major professional platforms for documentaries in Asia. It promotes innovative documentaries with unique points of view which relate to social and human interests, according to the organizer.
A biennial festival, the TIDF presents a program of more than 150 films, and includes festival-related public and educational programs, such as Q&A sessions, workshops, and exhibitions.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel