🎬Sunshinethe Philippines ｜Antoinette Jadaone｜2024｜Bilingual subtitles (Chinese-English)
Sunshine explores the struggles of an unmarried pregnant teenage girl torn between her dreams and reality, shedding light on the struggle for reproductive autonomy faced by women in the Philippines.
Spinning, leaping, and ribbons fluttering, a high school rhythmic gymnast is on the verge of an Olympic journey until she suddenly collapses during practice, revealing a startling secret: she is pregnant. Her boyfriend shirks responsibility, friends distance themselves, and her dreams are threatened. Amid confusion and despair, a mysterious little girl appears as if from nowhere… Is this a test of fate or a glimpse of what’s to come?
Director Antoinette Jadaone continues her signature female-centered perspective, delicately portraying the emotional struggles of a young girl caught between societal expectations and religious tradition. Infused with subtle fantasy elements, the story gains depth and warmth. In the conservative context of Philippine society, this film bravely and poetically explores reproductive autonomy and young women’s right to choose. It is a heartfelt, dreamlike coming-of-age drama that resonates deeply.
🎬Cactus Pears India｜Rohan Kanawade｜2025｜Bilingual subtitles (Chinese-English)
Cactus Pears tells the story of a man who returns to his hometown and rekindles feelings for a childhood friend, facing the difficult choice of whether to stay or leave.
Following his father’s death, a man returns to his rural hometown to attend the funeral, only to find himself suffocated by traditional rites and the pressures of relatives, especially the burden of a long-hidden secret: his homosexuality. The only comfort he finds is in reuniting with a childhood friend to tend sheep, revisit shared memories and awakening feelings. Together, they wade into the winter lake, nestled in each other’s breaths. Is this relationship, a fleeting solace or a true sense of belonging?
Drawing from personal experience, Director Rohan Kanawade eschews melodrama and musical embellishments, instead using natural sounds and long takes to paint a vivid portrait of daily life in the countryside. The film sensitively portrays the reality of queer lives in India’s marginalized communities, moving from the repression of being misunderstood to the quiet growth of intimacy. It gently explores themes of love and acceptance within a conservative family and society, allowing the audience to feel profound emotional currents.
🎬I, the SongBhutan｜Dechen Roder｜2024｜Bilingual subtitles (Chinese-English)
I, the Song depicts Bhutan’s crisis of identity and cultural erosion amid modernization.
In Bhutan, a small country with a population of just 700,000, rumors spread like the wind. A mysterious private video shatters the quiet life of a female teacher. The woman in the video looks exactly like her, and the scandal quickly engulfs the entire town. She loses her teaching position and faces a collapse of trust. Determined to uncover the truth, she embarks on a journey to find the woman in the video. This journey takes her to visit rural areas, question friends and relatives, and piece together the other woman’s past. The only clue is a song said to have the power to summon hearts: The Stolen Song.
Director Dechen Roder draws from a true story, focusing on the misunderstandings faced by women and the pressure of traditional culture. The film explores self-identity and cultural loss amid Bhutan’s modernization. With gentle, poetic imagery accompanied by haunting folk melodies, the audience is immersed in the protagonist’s quiet yet resolute emotional journey. This is a low, lingering song about searching, misrecognition, and reconciliation—its echo resonates long after the story ends.
🎬Macai Malaysia｜Shanjey Kumar Perumal｜2025｜Bilingual subtitles (Chinese-English)
Macai follows a drug dealer who loses his shipment and, fearing his boss’s revenge, embarks on a journey to make amends.
A reckless one-night fling goes disastrously wrong when a young drug courier loses a shipment of high-value methamphetamine. With his life on the line, he must team up with a friend and a mysterious new partner, driving a stolen car across borders in a desperate race to raise the ransom money. But plans quickly unravel, and the trio plunges into a chaotic series of disasters and spirals out of control. They find themselves trapped in a dark vortex of fate and morality, struggling to survive amid the chaos while confronting profound questions. Malaysian director Perumal draws from his Indian Tamil heritage, blending influences from his childhood fascination with Hong Kong gangster films and Chinese art cinema to craft a wild and psychedelic road thriller. From Hong Kong-style tea houses to Southeast Asian jungles, the film layers rock music and kaleidoscopic cinematography to create a breathtaking visual journey across Asian landscapes, while exposing the desperation and anger of marginalized and underprivileged communities. This is more than just a flight for survival—it is a profound inquiry into contemporary Asia and the search for identity.
🎬Crocodile TearsIndonesia｜Tumpal Tampubolon｜2024｜Bilingual subtitles (Chinese-English)
Crocodile Tears depicts how the arrival of a young girlfriend alters the mother-son relationship.
In a remote crocodile farm in West Java, a young man lives in close, almost suffocating harmony with his mother. When he meets a young woman from the town, feelings and desires quietly awaken, unsettling the strange, dependent balance between him and his mother. The crocodile’s open jaws seem ready to devour but symbolize maternal protection; as the mother’s control intensifies, is it born of loving care or a cage forged by love?
Director Tumpal Tampubolon spent six years creating this dark fable rich with Southeast Asian magical realism, using the crocodile’s maternal instincts as a metaphor for control and attachment within human family bonds. Blending suspense, thriller, and coming-of-age elements, the film unfolds through striking visual imagery and folkloric motifs a twisted yet inescapable mother-son relationship.
The 27th Taipei Film Festival will be held from June 20 to July 5, 2025 at Zhongshan Hall, VieShow Cinemas Xinyi, and SPOT Huashan Cinema. The full film lineup and event schedule have been announced, and ticket sales open on June 8. Please stay tuned to the TAEF social media platforms and the official festival website for the latest updates.
Details: https://www.taipeiff.taipei/tw/