Wandering Peddlers

In the holy city of Varanasi, 16-year-old Ali has one of the most dangerous jobs in the world – catching poisonous snakes. The boy balances life and death on a daily basis to support his family.

A Taiwanese-American man is happily settled in New York with his American boyfriend. He plans a marriage of convenience to a Chinese woman in order to keep his parents off his back and to get the woman a green card. Chaos follows when his parents arrive in New York for the wedding.

Determined to hold on to the throne, Cleopatra seduces the Roman emperor Julius Caesar. When Caesar is murdered, she redirects her attentions to his general, Marc Antony, who vows to take power—but Caesar’s successor has other plans.

Taiwan is at the heart of a struggle between two nuclear powers – China and the United States - and there are fears it will become the next global conflict. President Xi Jinping insists Taiwan is part of China and must re-unify with the motherland. But Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, says the island is already independent and must maintain its freedom and democracy. Jane Corbin investigates how the Taiwanese government and young people are fighting what they say is Chinese disinformation, cyber attacks and dirty tricks.

Taipeilove* is a documentary on the perception of homosexuality in the Taiwanese society. As Taiwan is the first country in Asia that is in the process of legalizing same-sex marriage, the documentary follows activists, politicians and experts in the Taiwanese society who have been fighting for marriage equality and navigating their lives through the hardship of coming-out, reaction of families, abandonment and finding love.

A boy experiences first love, friendships and injustices growing up in 1960s Taiwan.

When a depressed woman is burglarized, she finds a new sense of purpose by tracking down the thieves alongside her obnoxious neighbor. But they soon find themselves dangerously out of their depth against a pack of degenerate criminals.

Taiwan - Angst vor der Invasion

This film follows the lives of undocumented Vietnamese workers in Taiwan doing odd jobs to survive, after having been forced to flee their employers due to harsh working conditions and lack of medical care. How will living this way for more than a decade shape their lives?

Vicky recalls her romances with her exes Hao Hao and Jack in the neon-lit clubs of Taipei.

A reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.

The Gamblers

After handsome and rich man Dong-Ni (Alan Tang) is blinded in a car accident, he becomes moody, and does not go out of his room. Dong-Ni's mother hires beautiful Ai-Sha (Chen-chen) as her son's carer. Initially, Dong-Ni often throws tantrums at Ai-Sha, but Ai-Sha is patient, caring and does not give up. Dong-Ni's mother notices Dong-Ni's growing interests in Ai-Sha and becomes concerned, as Ai-Sha is not in the right social class for her son. What would happen to the couple?

After an affair with the fabled Snake King, a woman gives birth to a son she names Veasna. After Veasna finds a wife, a witch curses their daughter to be born with snakes instead of hair.

'Peng! Snowman' is a feature length documentary about a farmer's son who became one of the worldwide best martial artists. Just forget what you know about martial arts master. Peng will redefine the term: He's a funny, crazy genius! At the age of 60, Peng Wu-Chi was willing to share his incredible story for the first and last time - before he disappeared.

It is with an old bus an about thirty snakes that Franz Florez struggles for the preservation of nature in Colombia, one of the most environmentally diverse country in the world. His snakes are his pass to enter the deep jungle, where guerrillas fight the regular army and where narco-traffickers meet coca growers. Facing the threat of the industrial exploitation of these preserved areas, he tries to gather support among the population, including the armed actors.

Two young women retreat to a remote holiday home. While one of them undertakes a medical abortion, the other quietly cares for her. A snake slithers around them, unnoticed.

Over the course of a few days, the paths of a group of young friends, lovers, and acquaintances in Taipei crisscross, prompting them to arrive at realizations about their lives.

The film follows the meandering misadventures of an aimless medical school graduate who has never kept a job and wanders from the bed of one girl to another. He becomes caught between his flight attendant girlfriend who is often away and a high school girl who claims to be a lesbian. A mixture of fast living and brooding melancholy, Fluffy Rhapsody is an engaging, photogenic essay on the current generation of seemingly thoughtless, but in fact overly introspective urban youth.

This program illustrates how video activists have developed sophisticated use of small format video, with poetic and powerful imagery, complex mixes of sounds and scores and an effective editing style that belies the urgency under which it is being made. The video movement in Taiwan has made successful use of home cassette distribution, via both mail and street vendors. The Green Team collective has pioneered in this effort with over 100 titles in distribution, documenting the struggles of farmers, students, workers and environmentalists.