Reimagining gender

Some may think that “women’s films” are for females only. But that’s not the case, says Lo Pecha, director of the Women Make Waves International Film Festival. She’s observed that the festival’s audience is changing. More and more men have attended the screenings in recent years, and many are applying for internships. Moreover, many young people are now declaring themselves feminists—Lo was delighted to find that topics such as gender mainstreaming, gender fluidity, and gender performativity are currently popular with university students, which she sees as a sign of social progress.

According to Lo, feminism and queerness are basic themes of Women Make Waves, and often what initially attracts audiences. After experiencing the festival, however, they find that its content encompasses a wide variety of genres and themes. Take this year’s entrants for example. There are a total of 11 categories. Films in “Voices So Far, So Near” examine social issues ranging from gender violence to labor rights. There are also sci-fi and zombie films by female directors. Subject matter extends far beyond what many might imagine such a festival would include.

Lo Pecha was raised by her mother, who showed her that women could pursue dreams of their own. Never­the­less, Lo assumed that at some point she would marry and have children. But that was before she got into Women Make Waves. Now she’s unafraid to challenge social ­mores, “I may be an ‘old maid’ in others’ eyes. But I don’t feel any sense of inferiority—I feel proud, which proves that I have the freedom to pursue the things I want to do,” she says. “The image of women I used to have was one of responsibility, but after getting involved in the festival, I’ve realized we’re multi­faceted and free.”

Women’s films come in all genres. By Day's End is a zombie flick, shown in the festival’s “Raw” category.

Making waves

As its English name suggests, Women Make Waves wants to pioneer a new wave of ideas, so the festival introduces fresh themes every year. Topics such as domestic and sexual violence are staples, but social issues like “#MeToo,” “Time’s Up,” and “equal pay for equal work” are also addressed.

The festival frequently explores sexual auto­nomy. It once featured “Xposed: Eroticism as Sub­version,” which brought together adult films that took ­women’s perspectives. The series sought to reclaim ­women’s agency in pursuing sexual pleasure and expose the depth and complexity of sexual power dynamics, a reaction to adult movies catering to the male gaze.

Women Make Waves conveys an avant-garde impression; even issues long discussed are presented in a contemporary guise. Earlier films on motherhood centered on the relationship between women and maternity, questioning whether having children is the only way for a woman to affirm her self-worth. This year’s festival has a category dedicated to childbearing entitled “Womb of Feeling” which deals with a range of related topics, such as transgender males giving birth and sperm donation issues.

High Life is a sci-fi feature, shown in the “Auteuring Space” category.

Taiwan’s finest

Besides presenting the latest ideas in women’s cinema, this year’s festival will also look at a 1980s Taiwanese avant-garde filmmaker in “Return to the Unknown: Mi-Mi Lee.” When it comes to film dir­ectors from that period, most people think of men like Hou Hsiao-hsien, Edward Yang, or Toon Wang, but few have heard of Mi-Mi Lee.

This year’s festival will feature a trilogy of Lee’s films from the 1980s. Girls School deals with bullying, single parenting, and student－teacher romance. Evening News looks at the struggles of career women at home and at work, reflecting on stereotypical marriage roles. In Un­married Mothers, three single ­mothers support one another and live independently, constructing an atypical family model. Lee’s female characters are distinctive and fully fleshed out. Even 40 years on, the protagon­ists’ plight is echoed in modern women’s lives.

Lo Pecha says that in recent years, female Taiwanese filmmakers have produced more animated and experimental films. Subject matter has extended beyond family themes, delving into self-exploration through travel and Taiwan’s political scene, for example. She names Malaysian director Chris Leong Siew-hong as a young filmmaker with great potential.

Already a screenwriter in Malaysia, Leong came to Taiwan to study film. Blind Mouth (2017), a ­graduation project, reflects her thoughts on Malaysian society. At that time, the country was considering a legis­lative amendment that would infringe on people’s freedom, stirring public discussion. Leong asked herself, “If expressing dissatisfaction with the government or polit­ical system endangers me, dare do it?”

Blind Mouth depicts a fictional society in which children’s mouths are all sewn shut, yet there are still those who bravely seek to speak out. Leong stresses that it is everyone’s responsibility to maintain freedom and demo­cracy: “If we don’t stand up to oppression now, it will not only affect us; the next generation will be affected even more deeply.” The film was nominated for Best Live-Action Short Film at the Golden Horse Awards.

Leong’s Like Father, Like Daughter, a 2020 Women Make Waves selection, is a tribute to the Taiwanese-­language Foolish Bride, Naïve Bridegroom (1967). The protagonist in the latter film defended the freedom to choose his own romantic partner, but times have changed, and same-sex marriage is legal now. How will he respond to his daughter’s lesbian relationship?

Mi-Mi Lee’s 1980 film Unmarried Mothers constructs an atypical family model that’s still ahead of its time today.

A unique perspective

Although films in the festival’s Taiwan Competition may not necessarily be making their Taiwan premieres, Women Make Waves looks at works screened at other festivals from different perspectives. Lo cites two films listed in the Taiwan Competition as examples. One, the puppet animation Little Hilly, is about a ten-year-old girl faced with bullying. Other festivals may discuss the film in terms of its being an experimental work or its use of stop-motion animation, but Women Make Waves is focusing on how director Huang Yun—herself from a long line of dough-figurine crafters—wants to revitalize that tradition, and on the predicament of the little girl confronted with bullies.

The other film is Sister’s Busy Hands, directed by Lee Yi-shan, winner of a Golden Horse Award for Best Live-Action Short Film. The picture features big-name Taiwanese actresses Yang Li-yin and Pan Li-li, who play sex workers. Their performances and the cine­mato­graphy have caught moviegoers’ attention. Middle-aged actresses portraying women at the bottom of society is uncommon in mainstream movies, yet another example of the festival’s uniqueness.

This year’s festival will feature a Mi-Mi Lee retrospective, introducing audiences to films portraying the pioneering women of the 1980s.

Linking international and local

Besides showing domestic and foreign films in Taiwan, Women Make Waves holds exchanges with ­women’s film festivals in other countries. For example, the activities of the Network of Asian Women’s Film Festivals, whose members include festivals in South Korea, Japan, and Israel, raise Taiwan’s profile.

Women Make Waves has been putting on touring film shows since the 1990s. Lo Pecha shares her experi­ence of screening films at community centers in Taiwan, with a meal provided. Local audiences often protest they can’t understand the films, yet at the same time interpret them from their own perspectives while eating and chatting. Even if their thinking is at odds with that of the film­makers, “They all regard women’s film screenings as a place to get together and talk about movies. That’s great!” Lo Pecha says that all film festivals have a problem. Showing films at a festival in Taipei has a certain cachet. But in other places, you have to come down to earth and communicate with the locals. “I don’t go to lecture them, but to let them express their emotions. The post-screening exchanges are more inter­esting than the movies themselves,” Lo says.

Lo Pecha describes Women Make Waves as a carnival. Besides film screenings, there are a variety of well-planned activities each year, from symposiums to post-screening well-being workshops and nail salons. She invites you to drop your expectations and challenge yourself to see what you’ve never seen before, and have fun doing it!              

Festival offerings are increasingly diverse. The puppet animation Little Hilly depicts the plight of a little girl who falls victim to bullying.

Like Father, Like Daughter, by Malaysian director Chris Leong Siew-hong (right), touches on Taiwan’s same-sex marriage law. (courtesy of Chris Leong Siew-hong)

Sister’s Busy Hands reveals the plight of women at the bottom of society.

Women Make Waves’ thematic diversity appeals to both women and men.

Lo Pecha (front row, left) and team with posters from past WMW festivals. The trendsetting event continues to expand audiences’ ideas about film. (photo by Lin Min-hsuan)