Taiwan’s Taipei Film Festival has announced the 12 films selected for this year’s edition of its International New Talent Competition, which focuses on the debut and second features of up-and-coming directors.
The films will compete for the Grand Prize (NT$600,000) and Special Jury Prize (NT$300,000), along with an Audience Choice Award and an award presented by the Taiwan Film Critics Association.
The line-up includes two world premieres from Taiwan – Lin Li-shu’s teen sex comedy Leaving Virginia (pictured), starring Peggy Tseng, and Chen Yung-chi’s The Painting Of Evil, starring River Huang.
Several directorial debuts selected for the competition have already won awards at other festivals, such as Chinese filmmaker Zheng Lu Xinyuan’s The Cloud In Her Room, which won the Tiger Award at this year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam, and Danish director Frelle Petersen’s Uncle, which won the Tokyo Grand Prix at last year’s Tokyo International Film Festival.
The line-up also includes Takeshi Fukunaga’s Ainu Mosir, presented with a Special Jury Mention from this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, which took place online due to the Covid-19 pandemic (see full line-up below).
Taipei Film Festival is scheduled to take place June 25-July 11. The winners of the International New Talent Competition will be announced on June 30.
TAIPEI FILM FESTIVAL 2020
INTERNATIONAL NEW TALENT COMPETITION:
Ainu Mosir, dir. FUKUNAGA Takeshi (Japan-US-China)
The Cloud In Her Room, dir. ZHENG LU Xinyuan (HK-China)
Desterro, dir. Maria Clara ESCOBAR (Brazil-Portugal-Argentina)
Exile, dir. Visar MORINA (Germany-Belgium-Kosovo)
Leaving Virginia, dir. LIN Li-shu (Taiwan)
The Metamorphosis Of Birds, dir. Catarina VASCONCELOS (Portugal)
The Painting Of Evil, dir. CHEN Yung-chi (Taiwan)
Scales, dir. Shahad AMEEN (UAE-Iraq-Saudi Arabia)
Song Without A Name, dir. Melina LEÓN (Peru-Spain-US)
This Is Not a Burial, It’s A Resurrection, dir. Lemohang Jeremiah MOSESE (Lesotho-South Africa-Italy)
Uncle, dir. Frelle PETERSEN (Denmark)
Window Boy Would Also Like To Have A Submarine, dir. Alex PIPERNO (Uruguay-Argentina-Brazil-Netherlands-Philippines)