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Haunted by the Ghosts of Taiwan’s Colonial Past

·April 6, 2021·4 min read

Green Grass, Pale Fire follows three Taiwanese runaway miners in 1935 who are on the run from the Japanese army. Stranded in the jungles of Iriomote Island, Okinawa prefecture, after having escaped from the infamous “Green Jail” coal mine, the three hope to find a way home by boat. Given this setting, the short film explores Taiwan’s Japanese colonial period, which lasted from 1895 to 1945 Read More

Open-Chan Proves the Latest Taiwanese Balloon Float to Spectacularly Explode

English Life

·December 20, 2022·2 min read

A balloon float featuring 7/11 mascot Open-Chan that broke away from its tethers, flew away, and then exploded has become the object of numerous memes online Read More

Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s “Cloud” is a Gripping, Offbeat Thriller

English Film

·June 1, 2025·2 min read

Reminiscent of “Nightcrawler”, Japanese movie “Cloud” depicts an online reseller’s descent into moral ambiguity and surreality Read More

Staying True In a World Bombarding You With Constant Influences

English Film

·May 21, 2021·3 min read

Nomadland, a film that won Chloé Zhao an Oscar for Best Director, is a film that follows a woman named Fern who takes seasonal jobs to make ends meet as she drives across the country in her minivan after her husband's death. Fern and her husband used to work for the US Gypsum Company in Empire, Nevada, where they shared a company-owned flat. The US Gypsum shut down its gypsum mine and drywall plant, forcing people who lived and worked there to relocate Read More

“Our Histories and Our Stories Are More Valuable Than Any Currency”: A Decolonial Fundraiser for the Xaragua Arts Center

English Interviews Life

·May 27, 2023·13 min read

New Bloom’s Brian Hioe spoke to Jean-Aurel Maurice, the founder of the Xaragua Arts Center in Haiti, and Jean-Paul Weaver, Administrative Director and organizer of the fundraiser for the Xaragua Arts Center in Taipei next month, Danse Pou Xaragua. The fundraiser will include authentic Haitian food, live performances, and a Konpa dance workshop, taking place at the Exotica Bar and Grill in Tianmu on June 3rd from 6 PM to 10 PM. Tickets will cost 1,500 NT. All proceeds go towards supporting their Dance Passport program Read More

“The Homeless” Offers Well-Intentioned But Meandering Look At China’s Unhoused

English Film

·November 9, 2025·2 min read

Documentary "The Homeless" offers a valuable look at the lives of unhoused individuals in China, but with deficiencies in storytelling Read More

An Insightful Look at Taiwan’s Explosion of Creativity in the 1980s at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum

English Events Life

·December 31, 2022·3 min read

“The Wild Eighties: Dawn of Transdisciplinary Taiwan,” which runs from December 3rd to February 26th at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, is a highly successful look into the artistic creativity of Taiwan’s 1980s. This was the period in which martial law was lifted in Taiwan, resulting in an unprecedented explosion of creative freedoms. Read More

A Mysterious Though Evocative Short Film

English Film

·February 22, 2022·1 min read

“Sonata for Smoke” stands out for its mastery of the technical aspects of filmmaking, playing with viewers’ expectations through its proficiency. The film begins with what appears to be a burning object, along with a blunt instrument that is eventually revealed to be a microphone. They are left to wonder what they are seeing for several moments, before the camera pulls back Read More

Japanese Indie Film “Amiko” Depicts the Inner Life of a Quirky Child

English Film

·August 25, 2023·2 min read

First-time director Yusuke Morii’s “Amiko” offers a narrowly focused but inspired look at a child’s life through its titular character Read More

電影評論：環保少女：格蕾塔

Chinese Film

·June 29, 2021·1 min read

《環保少女：格蕾塔》是一部講述關於格蕾塔·桑伯格（Greta Thunberg）身為 2018 年氣候變遷罷課運動中心人物的紀錄片。時為高中生的桑伯格，抗議政府對於氣候變遷的態度冷漠，開始每個星期五的罷課。這個簡單的抗議行動，一開始只有她一個人，慢慢得到其他學生注意，最後，這個為氣候變遷罷課的運動成為全球性的運動。桑伯格的名聲因媒體炒作，成為全球性知名人物，也因此，聯合國邀請她參與了許多關於氣候變遷的會議。 Read More

A Taiwanese Diasporic Family Drama

English Film

·March 4, 2022·3 min read

American Girl is a family drama, following a family of two girls and their mother and father after they return to Taiwan following a significant stay in the US, with the father having stayed working in Taiwan to support the rest of the family during this time. Their return is due to the fact that the mother of the family has breast cancer and has decided to come back to Taiwan for treatment. However, this results in conflict between the family, with the eldest daughter, 13-year-old Fen, wanting to stay in America and be with her friends and begrudging her mother for her illness Read More

Review: The Magician on the Skywalk

English Film

·February 23, 2021·4 min read

The Magician on the Skywalk, a televised adaptation of Wu Ming-yi’s collection of short stories by the same name, premiered to much fanfare earlier in the week Read More