Taiwan International Queer Film Festival (KP26)

Here at the Ketagalan Project, we love movies, and we love the social impact movies can have. We have also followed LGBT issues in Taiwan, with an earlier conversation with Director 曹瑞原 who adapted Crystal Boys, a classic Taiwan novel on the gay subculture.This time, our Taipei correspondent William Yang had a chance to sit down with Taiwan International Queer Film Festival (TIQFF) international coordinator Victor Stevenson, to chat about the state of queer and LGBT communities in Taiwan, what impact he hopes the films will have, and why he is optimistic about Taiwan’s society becoming more progressive. Also, how watching Brokeback Mountain with your mom isn’t the best way to come out.The Taiwan International Queer Film Festival is on from 9/26 to 9/30 in Taipei, and from 10/3 to 10/7 in Kaohsiung.

• With the pro-same-sex marriage sentiment brewing in Taiwan, how do you see the film festival might play a role in helping to generate impact on the general public’s view about same-sex marriage? How do you see the film festival contributing something new to the social discussion on the LGBT rights movement here in Taiwan?
• The festival is also hoping to attract audiences who may not be LGBT or involved in the issues, and the films, in addition to touching on LGBT issues, also talk about family, parents and children, aging, etc. How does that factor in?
• The festival is also inviting many filmmakers and speakers from other countries, as well as film making workshops for aspiring talent. What is the general impression from our foreign guests on Taiwan’s LGBT situation?
• Will there be continuous effort to sustain the film festival in the following years, or there will be other similar events taking over its role of championing better understanding of queer culture?
• Can you share your thoughts and vision about the prospect of Taiwan’s LGBT community?

(Feature photo from TIQFF Closing Film “Anita’s Last Cha-Cha,” provided by TIQFF)