Four films will screen as part of the Taiwanese Film Festival at York starting Monday, including the top-selling film of all time in Taiwan.
The 2011 Taiwanese Film Festival will take place from Oct. 3 to 7. All films will screen at 3:30pm in the Nat Taylor Cinema, N102 Ross Building. The films will have English subtitles. Everyone is welcome.
There will also be a reception Friday, Oct. 7, from 2 to 3pm, at 313 York Student Centre, Keele campus. Film critic Alice Shih will deliver the keynote address “A Brief History of Taiwanese Film: Three Waves” at 2:30pm. Shih is the film critic and program host for Fairchild Radio, Canada’s leading Chinese language 
radio and television group. She is a board member of the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festivaland has written widely on Asian filmography.
The following is the list of films screening:
ORZ BOYS (Yang Ya-che, 2008)
Monday, Oct. 3
Orz Boyz is a film about two young boy pranksters, using a mix of fantasy and drama. With polished cinematography and inspiring music, the film mixes childhood reality, fantasy and anime.
Cape No. 7 (Wei Te-Sheng, 2008)
Wednesday, Oct. 5
The top-selling film of all-time in Taiwan, Cape No. 7 explores the pain of Taiwan’s separation from Japan in 1945 through a love story between a Taiwanese singer (Van Fan) and a Japanese model (Chie Tanaka). The plot is a comedy about a small town organizing local amateurs to open for a Japanese rock star, with a big musical ending.
Kung Fu Dunk (Chu Yen-ping, 2008)
Thursday, Oct. 6
Filmed in Taiwan and China with leading actors from both countries, Kung Fu Dunk mixes Hong Kong’s kung fu movie style with the American “poor boy overcomes all odds to play basketball” American genre. Jay Chou is the poor boy.
1895 (Hong Zhiyu, 2008)
Friday, Oct. 7
Based on a novel by Li Chiao, one of Taiwan’s best-known Hakka writers,1895 is a historical recreation of Hakka guerrilla resistance to Japanese troops occupying Taiwan in 1895, mixed with a love story. It is the first movie made using the Hakka language.
The festival is organized by the York Taiwanese Student Association and is supported by the Information Division, Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in Toronto and the York Centre for Asian Research (YCAR).
For more information, contact ytsaatyork@gmail.com or visit the YCAR website.
Republished courtesy of YFile– York University’s daily e-bulletin.