Queer Cinema from Taiwan at Frameline46

Still the only country in all of Asia to have legalized same-sex marriage, Taiwan continues to be on the forefront of LGBTQ+ storytelling through our ever-shifting and -adapting entertainment landscape. For the third year in a row, Frameline has partnered with the Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles and the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan (R.O.C.) to highlight some of the best in Taiwanese queer cinema. At Frameline46, you’ll find four exceptional works: one feature film, one episodic narrative, and two short films.

One of the most striking feature film debuts of the past year, C.B. Yi’s Moneyboys is an international, cross-continental production between Austria, France, Belgium, and Taiwan with Taiwan playing an integral role. Born in the mainland of China and raised mainly in Austria, C.B. Yi spent close to a decade preparing his first feature about gay sex workers in China. For a number of logistical reasons (not the least of which being the fear of censorship), the production relocated to Taiwan despite still being set in China and found its lead in Taiwanese heartthrob Kai Ko, marking his return to acting after several years.

With a visual flair akin to Taiwanese master Hou Hsiao-hsien, Yi also displays a certain European sensibility in Moneyboys, which doesn’t come as much of a surprise considering he studied under Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Haneke. Though it addresses broad human themes of acceptance, belonging, family trouble, and a search for love, Moneyboys is also distinctively queer in its bold vision, telling a story about Fei, a young man from a rural village who moves to the city and becomes a sex worker. While his family gladly accepts the financial help his new career provides them, they are much less accepting of his homosexuality. Since its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last summer, Moneyboys has screened at festivals across the globe, recently receiving a Special Jury Mention award at this year’s Seattle International film Festival. 

In many Asian countries like South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and the Philippines, LGBTQ+ media has made a noticeable shift from feature-length narratives intended for theatrical release to episodic content for the Internet via various streaming platforms. The increasing popularity of BL (or Boys’ Love) stories has made teen gay romances a hot ticket for episodic content. This trend has carried over to Taiwan as well. As episodes for many of these series vary in both length and numbers per season, some of these titles have also seen international theatrical releases, typically in a festival setting, if their overall running time falls in a normal feature film range. Such is the case for the lesbian-themed episodic drama Fragrance of the First Flower. Directed by Angel I-Han Teng and produced by Taipei-based streaming platform GagaOOLala, the six episodes for Fragrance of the First Flower ran roughly around 20 minutes, making it just the right length for festival play. In addition to screening at Frameline46, Fragrance also played at BFI Flare in London and the Melbourne Queer Mini Film Festival in 2022.

While Fragrance marked the first big directorial project for Angel I-Han Teng, popular queer episodics have attracted big name theatrical talent as well, a trend that can be seen throughout the entertainment industry worldwide. One of the few openly lesbian filmmakers in Asia, Taiwanese filmmaker Zero Chou (Drifting Flowers, Frameline32; Spider Lilies, Frameline31) is one of the talented auteurs venturing into LGBTQ+ episodic content. She directed the lesbian romantic comedy series Handsome Stewardess in 2019 and the popular BL series Because of You in 2020.

In addition to Moneyboys and Fragrance of the First Flower, the Frameline46 program will feature a pair of Taiwanese short films, which will be screening in-person and virtually as part of the Frameline Encore from June 24-30. Screening in the program Fun in Shorts: Tutti Frutti, Frameline’s annual collection of comedic shorts with an LGBTQ+ slant, Tank Fairy is an Taiwanese/American co-production about a trans/drag artist (played by popular drag star Marian) directed by Taiwan-based American filmmaker Erich Rettstadt. Since premiering at the Kaohsiung Film Festival in Taiwan in October of 2021, Tank Fairy has collected numerous awards at various international film festivals, including the Audience Award at the SXSW Film Festival, a Special Jury Award at the Seattle International Film Festival, and the Martin Contreras and Keith Orr \aut\ Film Award (given to the best LGBTQ+ film) at the Ann Arbor Film Festival. With all of its accolades and success on the festival circuit, Rettstadt is now developing Tank Fairy into a half-hour anthology series.

Screening in the Constant Craving shorts program, Chou Tung-yen’s Kiss will be having its international premiere at Frameline46, alongside other notable, award-winning short films exploring the erotic side of queer cinema and stories about LGBTQ+ connections. Starring Wang Ko-yuan of Dear Tenant (Frameline45) and Gentleman Spa (Frameline43), Kiss is a gorgeous wordless mediation on desire as a lonely traveler explores the ruins of a gay sauna in the aftermath of an apocalyptic event. Director Chou Tung-yen explores similar territory in Kiss as he did through his previous film In the Mist, which utilizes another method of advancing queer stories through new media. Haunting and sexually explicit, In the Mist offered a 360 VR tour of an all-male sauna. It also premiered at the Kaohsiung Film Festival in 2020 and screened at such prestigious film festivals like Venice and the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma in Montréal.

All four of the Taiwanese films at Frameline46 will screen across the US virtually from June 24-30 as part of the Frameline Encore.