Community Supporter
Taiwan202045 minTaiwanese Mandarin with English subtitlesToronto PremiereDrama, Reel Asian Award Winner
In a society different from what we know, a hotel in Taipei welcomes suicidal people and assists them in committing the act by providing several methods that they can choose from. Over the course of one night, a receptionist starts to defy the rules and develops an unusual friendship with a hotel guest who can't make up her mind on whether she wants to live or die.
Thoughtful and poetic, Taipei Suicide Story uses a few glimpses of grim dystopia to enforce transcendental and deeply human connections. The narrative explores the suffocating sensation of loneliness with a casual, empathetic and sweet approach, thus removing the social stigma and neutralizing the fleeting experiences between the two characters. KEFF's new film reflects on the mundanity of existence, the possibility of death or the opportunities of life, and the gift of choice—and the difference it makes.
- Roland Basmayor
Vivian Sung
Tender Huang
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Cinéfondation Selection, Cannes Film Festival, 2020
Fantasia Film Festival, 2021
Golden Harvest Short Film Festival, 2021
AWARDS
Grand Jury Prize (Narrative Features), Audience Award (Narrative Features), and Acting Award (Tender Huang), Slamdance Film Festival, 2021
Emerging Director for Narrative Feature Award, Asian American International Film Festival, 2021
KEFF
KEFF is a Taiwanese American multidisciplinary artist, and lives in New York and Taipei. He is an open-format DJ and producer, as well as a writer and film director. His first short film, Secret Lives of Asians at Night, was supported by the Spike Lee Film Fellowship and won the Jury Award for Best Asian American Film from the Director’s Guild of America. His second short film and NYU thesis, Taipei Suicide Story, had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival (Cinéfondation) and won the Grand Jury Prize (Narrative Feature) at the Slamdance Film Festival.
10 Nov, 2021
to 19 Nov, 2021
AA
Community Supporter
This presentation has English subtitles.
An Active Listener will be available to offer one-on-one peer support for viewers who may find the content of this presentation triggering. More info on how to access here.
This film contains the potentially triggering topic of suicide.
It starts simple enough. In town on a stopover, years after she transitioned, Kris is meeting her college ex-girlfriend Naomi again for the first time. But seeing an ex is never simple. As the evening unfolds, the past inevitably creeps back into their conversations.
(re)Rites of Passage is a special anthology published as part of our 25th-anniversary celebrations, and a follow-up to Reel Asian: Asian Canada on Screen (published in 2007 for Reel Asian’s 10th anniversary).
This panel is specifically built for filmmakers working in children’s programming. Join this informative discussion with CBC to learn how to break into and develop a career in the field in a way that can create a better future for kids.