Rainbow Taiwan flag at the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. | Photo via Instragram (charlesc1025)
The Taiwan International Queer Film Festival kicked off its fifth year on Friday (24 August).
The festival will run until 16 September and will take place in multiple venues across Taiwan’s capital.
This year’s theme is ‘Viva’, in honor of the LGBTI community’s ‘confidence and contribution’, The Taipei Times reports.
The festival will feature 31 films, from both domestic and international directors.
Singer LaLa Hsu, a festival ambassador, hopes that the festival and its films will help attendees better understand the LGBTI community and some of the issues it faces.
But ultimately, the festival is a celebration of Taiwan’s LGBTI community. Taiwan is considered by many to be the most progressive country for LGBTI rights in Asia.
RIP Ellen Loo
The festival will also commemorate Hong Kong singer Ellen Loo.
Loo is believed to have committed suicide earlier this month after years of battling with depression.
Loo publically came out as gay at the Golden Melody Awards in 2017 and was a well-known advocate for LGBTI rights in both Taiwan and Hong Kong. She will be survived by her wife of two years, Taiwanese cinematographer Fisher Yu.
In honor of Loo’s memory, the organizers have actively called on the public to sign two petitions calling for the legalization of same-sex marriage, and for greater levels of same-sex education by the state.
Last year, Taiwan’s top court ruled that the current law which bans same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
The Council of Grand Justices decreed that unless an amendment is made to Taiwan’s constitution within two years of the date of their ruling, the current law should be updated to include same-sex couples.
If this succeeds, Taiwan will become the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.
