Documentary Biennale Tour Reaches Kinmen Station: Four Classic Films Screened This Weekend

Tourism Center / Taipei Report

The touring film festival featuring selected works from the “2013 Taiwan International Documentary Festival” will begin on August 10 and make its stop in Kinmen, screening four outstanding documentaries including Island, The Sinking Island, and Golden Kid, which won the top prize at the Taiwan Award last year. The opening screening on August 10 will be followed by a post-film discussion with director Huang Ting-fu.

The Kinmen leg of the tour will run every Saturday and Sunday from August 10 to 18, screening one documentary each day starting at 2:00 PM. All screenings will take place in the third-floor meeting room of the Kinmen County Cultural Affairs Bureau and are free and open to the public.

The Taiwan International Documentary Festival was established by the Ministry of Culture to encourage documentary filmmakers, inspire creative innovation in subject matter, form, and technique, and promote international exchange. Known as TIDF, the festival was first held in 1998 under the initiative of Wang Tuo. It takes place biennially for ten days each time, screening approximately 120 to 150 films, with programs reflecting societal conditions and changes.

▲ Island | Director: Huang Ting-fu (Photo provided by Kinmen County Government)

That old street has lost its former glory, with crumbling walls and dilapidated houses, yet it is still home to people who have forgotten time: grandfathers playing cards, drinking tea, and chatting; grandmothers washing and drying clothes all day; the barber shop owner blasting saxophone covers; lonely elderly humming to themselves; and a mother weathered by life walking her mentally disabled child. They sleep indoors but live outdoors, supporting one another through the years. From the beginning to the end of the seventh lunar month each year, islanders take turns holding ceremonies for the wandering spirits, hoping that the countless souls lingering on the island will accept their devout offerings and allow peace between the living and the dead.


▲ Voyage in Time | Director: Zhou Dong-yan (Photo provided by Kinmen County Government)

Huang Ming-zheng, trained in circus stunts since childhood, announced to everyone at age 26 that he would travel the world for fifteen years performing and taking a series of handstand photos. People around him found his dream unbelievable. Two years later, he completed a five-month journey around Taiwan and created the performance Transparent Nation, which earned recognition at the Taishin Arts Award, and he went on to share his dream at TED… But beyond the applause and cheers, the theme became not just about dreams, but the profound loneliness felt by a small person adrift in the flow of time.

▲ The Sinking Island | Director: Huang Hsin-yao (Photo provided by Kinmen County Government)

Tuvalu, assessed by the international community as the first small island nation likely to be submerged within 50 years due to global warming and rising sea levels. I set off for the distant shores of Tuvalu, eagerly searching for evidence of this sinking island under blue skies, turquoise seas, and coconut trees. What did I find? Throughout the journey, filled with questions, I rocked on the waves of the Pacific, constantly recalling my own island—a place of frequent disasters that felt like a dream… On this unexpected trip, following the direction of song, I found…


▲ Golden Kid | 2012 Taiwan International Documentary Festival Taiwan Award First Prize | Director: Yao Hong-yi (Photo provided by Kinmen County Government)

Jinzhou is a small city in northeastern Liaoning. At the age of 17, Liu Xiaodong left his hometown to study art in Beijing. Since then, he has traveled widely and painted extensively, earning recognition from international critics as “China’s most important painter.” Thirty years later, the artist returned to his roots to sketch his birthplace. He set up a temporary studio outdoors, spread out a huge canvas, and painted on-site. But in this place laden with complex emotions—history, pain, nostalgia, and family memories—how does an artist capture the timeless when faced with familiar yet crumbling sights? And what kind of forward momentum can reflection bring to someone returning home?