It was the legalization of same-sex marriage in Taiwan (which took effect in May 2019) that inspired the Austin Asian American Film Festival team to consider a film festival built around the evolution of LGBTQ subjects throughout the country’s cinematic history.
Now, “Prismatic Taiwan: A Queer Film Series” will run digitally from Sept. 4-13. Passes are $14.99 for all six films. Tickets and info: aaafilmfest.org
The lineup of films — many of which were never released or remain elusive in the United States — spans 1970 to 2016, and includes such key filmmaking figures in Taiwanese cinema as Tsai Ming-liang, Mickey Chen, and Zero Chou. The series slate serves as a documentation of history as it unfolds, containing contemporaneous portrayals of queer subcultures across various eras — from the gay club scene in the early 1980s (Yu Kan-ping’s “Outcasts”) to the online culture of the early 21st century (Zero Chou’s “Spider Lilies”).
The series also includes “Creating Transnational Queer Asian Spaces,” a live, virtual roundtable discussion event with Asian Cinevision and director Zero Chou on Sept. 5. Panelists include leaders from LGBTQ activism groups such as Taiwan Equality Campaign (Taiwan), Queer Asian Social Club (USA) and more.
