LGBTQ Archives | Talking Taiwan Podcast

Small Talk at LGBTQ Film Festival: An Interview with Director Huang Hui-chen Ep 92

Felicia Lin — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 14:51:43 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

A relationship between mother and daughter that was so stonewalled that it took 20 years and a camcorder to make a breakthrough- this was the subject of Huang Hui-chen’s first feature documentary film, Small Talk. Small Talk is one of two documentary films being screened at the Austin Asian American Film Festival’s Prismatic Taiwan (September 4-13), a virtual, six-film series celebrating the past and present of queer Taiwanese cinema. Hui-chen spoke candidly about this deeply personal film that she described as a letter to her mother. She also revealed what happened in the aftermath of the film, and the filmmaking advice that the legendary Taiwanese film director Hou Hsiao-hsien gave her. Her film and personal story give hope to others dealing difficult parent-child relationships. Special thanks to the Austin Asian American Film Festival and Stacey Pai for providing translation.

To purchase tickets to watch Small Talk and learn about the other films featured in Prismatic Taiwan visit: www.aaafilmfest.org/ Talking Taiwan listeners will get $2 off when they use the code TALKING. The Prismatic Taiwan Queer Film Series, features six LGBTQ Taiwan films spanning from 1970 to 2016. You can watch all six films for under $15. To learn more Prismatic Taiwan check out last week’s episode, Episode 91.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Hui-chen’s work as an activist
When she got interested in documentary filmmaking
How it took her so long (20 years) to make Small Talk into a movie that her mother and relatives didn’t think she’d actually be able to do it
The footage of her nieces discussing whether their grandma (Hu-Chen’s mother) is a boy or a girl
How she got her mother to finally talk
How she got other family members and her mother’s girlfriends to talk in the film
The one person who she would have like to interview for the movie, but did not
How the film, Small Talk is like a letter to her mother
Why Hui-chen’s husband doesn’t appear in the film
While Hui-chen’s now ex-husband doesn’t appear in Small Talk he will be in her next film which will be about the relationship between love and social activism
Hui-chen’s mother’s reaction to the film after watching it
How Hui-chen’s mother’s reacted when Small Talk was screened at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards
How the film Small Talk has affected her and mother’s relationship with their relatives
What was Hui-chen’s sister’s reaction to Small Talk
How the film Small Talk has affected Hui-chen’s relationship with her mother
How Hui-chen’s relatives reacted to and dealt with to her mother’s lesbianism
How Hou Hsiao-hsien took a leap of faith when he got involved and became the executive producer of Small Talk
What filmmaking advice Hou Hsiao-hsien gave her
How Hui-chen feels about Small Talk having been selected as the Taiwanese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards
Hui-chen’s book about her mother that reveals more that the film did not

Austin Asian American Film Festival: Prismatic Taiwan, A Series Celebrating Queer Taiwanese Cinema Ep 91

Felicia Lin — Sun, 23 Aug 2020 21:05:43 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Prismatic Taiwan, is a virtual, six-film series celebrating the past and present of queer Taiwanese cinema, co-presented by the Austin Asian American Film Festival (AAAFF). I recently spoke with Hanna Huang, the Executive Director of the Austin Asian American Film Festival and Josh Martin of the special programs team about the lineup of films that span 1970-2016. As you’ll hear in the interview, a lot of research and thought went into the film selections. The films offer a different perspective on Taiwan’s history and insight into Taiwan’s LGBTQ history. You can watch all six films for under $15 and Talking Taiwan listeners can also get an additional $2 off when they use the code: TALKING.

Next week’s episode will feature my interview with one of the film directors, Huang Hui-chen about her film, Small Talk, a deeply personal documentary that was 20 years in the making.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

How the Austin Asian American Film Festival has screened many Taiwanese films throughout the years
The retrospective of six Hou Hsiao-hsien films at the Austin Asian American Film Festival in September 2018
How a Taiwan Queer Film Retrospective has actually been in the works since 2018
The Austin Asian American film festival started in 2004, but was known as the Austin Asian film festival until 2007 when an Asian American organizer, Masashi Niwano stepped in
The mission of the Austin Asian American Film Festival, which is to bring to light Asian and Asian American stories through cinema
Their programming is year round
The main film festival is usually held in June, but this year they had a short film online festival featuring 36 short films
Prismatic Taiwan, a six film retrospective of queer films spanning 1970-2016
A retrospective of Asian American films is being planned for the late fall (November)
The meaning behind the name Prismatic Taiwan
How they translated the word prismatic with the Chinese word for kaleidoscope, therefore Prismatic Taiwan A Queer Film Series has been translated into Chinese as: 萬花同志電
How the first film of Prismatic Taiwan, The End of the Track from 1970 was thought lost but has been recovered and is being reintroduced to audiences
How they narrowed down the film selection from over 20 films to 6
The one film that they couldn’t include in Prismatic Taiwan when the Austin Asian American Film Festival went online, Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet
The second film in the series, Outcasts (aka The Outsiders) as made in 1986 right before martial law in Taiwan was lifted
How they selected films that were not that easy to find
The River, was set in 1997 around the emergence of the gay club scene in Taipei
Not Simply a Wedding Banquet, set in 1997 is a documentary
Spider Lilies (2007) and Small Talk (2016) feature female gay characters whereas The River and Not Simply a Wedding Banquet feature male gay characters
September 5^thlive event, a Transnational Queer Activism Panel featuring Film Director Zero Chou in collaboration with Asian Cinevision along with others from the U.K. and Taiwan
Small Talk (2016) is a documentary film that was 20 years in the making and was executive produced by Hou Hsiao-hsien and Taiwan’s submission to the Academy Awards
These films tell the story of Taiwan’s history and queer history
How Director Tsai Ming-Liang, made the film I Don’t Want To Sleep Alone in Malaysia but it was banned there
Previously Tsai Ming-Liang had said that he wasn’t comfortable having his films in a queer film festival but that has changed since the legalization of gay marriage in Taiwan
How there were film distributors or filmmakers who didn’t want their film to be a part of the queer series
The background of Mou Tun-Fei the director of The End of The Track
How the design of the poster for Prismatic Taiwan was inspired by Kaohsiung’s Love River
Prismatic Taiwan is offering a SPECIAL DISCOUNT to listeners of Talking Taiwan, just use the code: TALKING to get $2 off when you purchase your tickets from August 38-September 13

What Led to Taiwan’s Same Sex Marriage? Ep 83

Felicia Lin — Mon, 29 Jun 2020 01:59:18 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

In 2017 I interviewed Professor Wen Liu about the historic news of May 24, 2017, that Taiwan’s Constitutional Court had ruled that marriage is not strictly defined as being between a man and a woman. This paved the way for same sex marriage to be legalized in Taiwan in 2019. Since the Stonewall uprising, which began on June 28, 1969, led to the international gay rights movement, June has become recognized as worldwide Pride month. In recognition of Pride month, I’d like to re-share my interview with gender studies Professor Wen Liu.

Here’s a link to the original post of this interview: https://staging.talkingtaiwan.com/gender-studies-professor-wen-liu-talking-taiwan-ep-58/

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

The May 24th ruling by the Constitutional Court in Taiwan that same-sex marriage could be legalized
Mr. Chi Chia-wei who’s lawsuit led to the May 24th ruling
The history of the same-sex marriage battle and family law in Taiwan
Major turning points in Taiwan’s LGBTQ movement
The history behind Taiwan’s gay pride parade
How Taiwan compares to other Asian countries on LGBTQ issues
The next steps after the May 24th ruling
The marriage equality bill, civil partnership bill, multiple family bill
Other work that needs to be done in Taiwan for the LGBTQ community

Taiwan Pride Parade of the World: Speaking with Organizer Darien Chen Ep 82

Felicia Lin — Sun, 28 Jun 2020 10:22:21 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

On June 28, 2020, Taiwan Pride Parade for the World will be held in Taipei at 3pm to celebrate Pride Month and the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots. While in-person Pride events have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it will likely be one of the few if only in-person Pride events to be held in the world during Pride Month. I spoke with the organizer of Taiwan Pride Parade for the World, Darien Chen about what motivated him to organize the event.

Darien also told me about how he participated in Mr. Gay World as Mr. Gay Taiwan and how he hopes that the parade will give people around the world hope and keep the torch and spirit of Pride alive.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

How Darien competed as the first Mr. Gay Taiwan at Mr. Gay World
His involvement in the first Gay Pride Parade in Taiwan
His involvement with the NTU (National Taiwan University) gay student club GayChat
What motivated Darien to organize Taiwan Pride Parade for the World
The challenges and obstacles he faced in trying to organize the event
How Taiwan will be the only place in the world that will be able to host a live in-person Gay Pride Parade in June (worldwide Pride Month), on the anniversary of the June 28, 1969 Stonewall riots
That there are several Pride parades/events organized at the local level in Taiwan’s various counties
Activities planned on the day of the event
If there will be a live stream of the event
Darien’s co-organizer Mamasan drag queen Magnolia La Manga
How this rally will compare to the annual Gay Pride Parade that takes place in Taiwan in October
What the annual Gay Pride Parade that takes place in Taiwan in October is like and how it compares to the Gay Pride March in New York and other major cities
Taiwan Pride Parade for the World marks the 50th anniversary of first Gay Pride Parade that was held in Chicago, Illinois on June 27, 1970

Gender Studies Professor on the LGBTQ Movement in Taiwan – Wen Liu Talking Taiwan Ep 58

Felicia Lin — Sat, 02 Sep 2017 01:32:21 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

When I heard the historic news of May 24th, that Taiwan’s Constitutional Court had ruled that marriage is not strictly defined as being between a man and a woman, it was exciting to know that Taiwan was poised to be the first country in Asia to legalize gay marriage. Even though I’ve been involved with the Taiwan float in the New York Gay Pride Parade twice before this year’s event, I realize that I still have a lot more to learn about the LGBTQ movement and community in New York and Taiwan.

In fact, just last year I attended an orientation session for floats participating in the New York Gay Pride Parade. There I learned that the official name of the event is actually the New York Pride March. Why a march and not a parade? The organizers of New York Pride explained that the term march is a reminder of the origins of the first Gay Pride March in New York, which rose out of the riots that erupted in reaction to the unjust police raids of the Stonewall bar.

As for Taiwan’s Gay Pride Parade, it’s the largest one in Asia. But beyond that, and up until the May 24th Constitutional Court ruling, what’s happened in the gay rights movement in Taiwan?

I thought this would be the perfect time to cover this topic on the Talking Taiwan podcast.I wanted to interview someone about the gay rights movement in Taiwan. That led me to Wen Liu, gender studies professor at SUNY Albany and my interview with her.

I am so pleased to have Wen on as a guest to talk about the LGBTQ movement and the recent ruling in Taiwan on same-sex marriage. What listeners don’t know is that Wen did the interview with me from Taiwan, even though she is usually based in New York. I really appreciate her taking the time out of her schedule to do this interview with me.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

The May 24th ruling by the Constitutional Court in Taiwan that same-sex marriage could be legalized
Mr. Chi Chia-wei who’s lawsuit led to the May 24th ruling
The history of the same-sex marriage battle and family law in Taiwan
Major turning points in Taiwan’s LGBTQ movement
The history behind Taiwan’s gay pride parade
How Taiwan compares to other Asian countries on LGBTQ issues
The next steps after the May 24th ruling
The marriage equality bill, civil partnership bill, multiple family bill
Other work that needs to be done in Taiwan for the LGBTQ community

LGBTQ Archives | Talking Taiwan Podcast

Small Talk at LGBTQ Film Festival: An Interview with Director Huang Hui-chen Ep 92

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links:

Austin Asian American Film Festival: Prismatic Taiwan, A Series Celebrating Queer Taiwanese Cinema Ep 91

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links:

What Led to Taiwan’s Same Sex Marriage? Ep 83

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links:

Taiwan Pride Parade of the World: Speaking with Organizer Darien Chen Ep 82

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links:

Gender Studies Professor on the LGBTQ Movement in Taiwan – Wen Liu Talking Taiwan Ep 58

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links: