“Forbidden Love” is this year’s theme. Don’t miss the uniquely independent films from both Taiwanese and international directors.

Introduction

The Kaohsiung Film Festival enters its 19th year. This year, the theme revolves around “Forbidden Love.” What exactly is forbidden love? Some may define it as taboo or loving relationships that challenge cultural norms. We will let you be the judge.

Time and again, classic romantic films appear to challenge its system regardless of the variety of detractors. The Chinese legend of a tragic love story, The Butterfly Lovers, defies a male dominated society which ultimately crushed and destroyed the hapless pair. As lovers pursue their hearts, they tend to confront the societal norms. However, the explicit force is acknowledged by all societies as part of their ways. When taboos coincide with suppressed desires, the power void in some manner provokes a defiant viewpoint that represents a novelty value of the new generation.

Whilst unspoken rules continue to exist in modernity, the infatuated devotees are also girding up their loins for the fray under the bewitching power of love.
Kaohsiung Film Festival

✅ Dates: Oct 10 (Thursday) – Oct 18 (Friday)
✅ Place: Multiple Venues
✅ Website: Click Here

Forbidden Love

The selections of movies depict illicit love.

The Canadian movie, Soft Shell Man, is about a photographer who has an affair with his best friend’s deaf girlfriend despite unresolved problems with an estranged wife. A Japanese movie and also the featured opening film, It Feels So Good, tells a story about Naoko who is getting married in ten days. She reunites with her former lover Kenji which brings “memories of the lust-filled days of their youth come flooding back to them.” In another Japanese film, a story of a high school student falling in love with a 45-year old divorcee is depicted in After the Rain. An American Academy Award winning classic is also being featured during the festival. The movie, American Beauty, is about a father who develops feelings for his teenage daughter’s cheerleader best friend. Finally, the acclaimed Japanese provocative film, In the Realm of the Senses, originally released in 1976, is a true story adaptation of a love affair between a servant and her master that leads to a violent end.