English

A to Z

“Dear Corky” Pays Tribute to a Beloved Photographer of Chinatown

·October 25, 2022·2 min read

“Dear Corky” is a tribute to the photographer Corky Lee, who spent decades documenting Asian American life, and died in 2021 from COVID-19. The short documentary film was assembled from footage shot of Lee before his death, though this may not have been with the aim of creating a documentary about Lee at first Read More

“Life for Sale” Offers a Stylized and Complex Exploration of Mortality

English Film

·July 26, 2022·3 min read

Life for Sale is an ambitious work. While imperfect, the film is bold, and those willing to indulge some of its more visible flaws may find the journey rewarding Read More

“Mountain Woman” Depicts Human Cruelty and Desperation in a Japanese Village

English Film

·November 4, 2022·2 min read

With its story about an outcast family, “Mountain Woman” explores humanity’s darkness against a beautiful backdrop of Japan’s countryside Read More

“Tank Fairy” Proves A Spunky Queer Take on a Fixture of Taiwanese Life

English Film

·October 28, 2022·2 min read

Tank Fairy is a spunky queer take on a traditional fixture of Taiwanese urban life–the deliveryperson, invariably middle-aged and male, that brings canisters of gas that apartments use to boil hot water for cooking and showering Read More

“Therapy Dogs” Offers a Cleverly Stylized Depiction of High School

English Film

·November 16, 2022·3 min read

Therapy Dogs is a creatively stylized take on high school, following two friends in their senior year. Though the film is unlikely to appeal to all viewers, given its deliberately disjointed narrative, it manages to capture something of the nihilism–and violence–of wayward teenagers Read More

“100 Ways to See Transgender” Exhibition Shares a Wide Range of Transgender Experiences

English Events Life

·November 11, 2022·6 min read

This past weekend, over 200 participants came to see the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights’ (TAPCPR) "看見跨性別藝文展 100 Ways to See Transgender" exhibition at 二空間 SPACE TWO. Since their first Transgender Film Festival in 2020, TAPCPR has made it a tradition to do larger scale public engagement programming around transgender issues every year in the month of November. Last year was the second Transgender Film Festival, and this year is the 100 Ways to See Transgender exhibition Read More

“A Light Never Goes Out” Celebrates Hong Kong’s Iconic Neon Signs

English Film

·December 3, 2022·3 min read

"A Light Never Goes Out" is a spirited look into the craftsmen who build and maintain Hong Kong’s iconic neon signs. Though the film’s plot is somewhat boilerplate, it has beautiful cinematography, and demonstrates a genuine love for its subject Read More

“Before Next Spring” Humanizes the Lives of Chinese Students in Japan

English Film

·July 16, 2022·3 min read

Before Next Spring is a humanistic look at a group of young Chinese students working in Japan. Based on the experiences of first-time director Li Gen during his own time studying abroad in Japan, the film proves a strong debut Read More

“Beitou Witch Magic Festival” Criticized Over Depiction of Indigenous

English Events Life

·September 8, 2022·4 min read

A cultural event in Beitou has been criticized regarding Indigenous representation. Namely, the event, the “Beitou Witch Magic Festival”, draws on the history of female Indigenous mediums in Beitou Read More

“Dealing With Dad” Aims for Asian American Family Drama but Has Mixed Results

English Film

·November 1, 2022·3 min read

Dealing With Dad has all the makings of a solid comedy about an Asian American family. Nevertheless, the film simply fails to come to life somehow. Maybe it’s because the entire movie feels tonally off-key. Perhaps it has to do with its near-complete lack of soundtrack, an odd choice outside of the art house genre . Or, it may have to do with how few of the movie’s jokes hit the mark Read More

“Demigod: The Legend Begins” Breathes New Life Into Taiwanese Puppetry

English Film

·August 22, 2022·3 min read

“Demigod” celebrates a mainstay character of renowned Taiwanese traditional puppetry studio Pili Puppetry, and introduces the art form to new audiences Read More

“I Throw Everything into a Blender When I DJ”: An Interview with Misty Penguin

English Interviews Music

·October 5, 2021·6 min read

No Man is an Island presents the first of a set of collaborations with Electric Soul, a Hong Kong-based electronic music magazine and ticketing platform. For our first cross-posted article, we spoke with Beatrice Wong, who DJs as Misty Penguin. Apart from being one of Hong Kong’s few transgender DJs, Wong is also a stand-up comedian and filmmaker. The following article was originally published on Electric Soul on September 10th Read More