Rare View

Any festival of Taiwan New Wave must include Hou Hsiao-Hsien,so the “Cine Experience” kicks off with his Zui Hao De Shi Guang (Three Times). It’s a series of three stories that shows a transition — in the first two,letters play a pivotal role,while in the third cell phones,text messages and the Internet take over. “The tales span from 1966 to 2005 when words become more free and communication recedes,” says Suri. The film also has an unlikely Bollywood angle — Imtiaz Ali’s forthcoming film Love Aaj Kal is said to be its rip-off.

Apart from the urban portraits in Tsai Ming Liang’s Dong (The Hole) and He Lious (The River),in which water becomes a symbol of social dysfunction,there will be Yang Ya Chen’s Orz Boys,a tale of two mischievous boys called Liar Number 1 and Liar Number 2 who are faced with the twin problems of staying out of trouble and growing up. But it is with a special film that the festival closes. We Nien Jen’s Duo Sang (A Borrowed Life) is about Sega,born in Taiwan under the Japanese rule and out of sync with the Mainland Chinese authorities who took over in 1945. “We are screening a rare sample piece because most prints are lost,” says Suri.

The festival will be held on June 27 and 28 at the India Islamic Centre.

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