This year’s Asian American International Film Festival highlights several Taiwanese films focused on rural experiences and grassroots activism in Taiwan, in response to urbanization and globalization. This timely theme consists of the following films: THE RICE BOMBER, 100 DAYS, A TIME IN QUCHI, and short film A BREATH FROM THE BOTTOM, featured in MEMORIES FROM THE STRIKE. In addition, Tainan-based stop-motion animation artist Hui-ching Tseng will lead two stop-motion workshops with local youth. The program is sponsored by Taipei Cultural Center of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York.

Based on an actual social event, THE RICE BOMBER depicts a series of bombing incidents in Taiwan as the country entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the early 2000s. To battle the encumbrance of an unfamiliar globalized food supply, farmer Yang Rumen transforms into an advocate for local farmers. The film is an official selection for Berlinale 2014. Director Cho Li and Producer Yeh Jufeng will be in attendance.

Written by Taiwanese-American screenwriter Weiko Lin and produced solely in Taiwan, 100 DAYS successfully integrates local Taiwanese flavors despite its blockbuster finesse. The heartfelt romantic comedy follows a cold-hearted telecommunications executive named Bo Dan to return to his hometown on the Matsu Islands for his estranged mother’s burial. Award-winning director Henry Chan and screenwriter Weiko Lin will be in attendance at AAIFF’14.

Award-winning filmmaker Chang Tso-chi’s A TIME IN QUCHI is a light, upbeat coming-of-age story revolving around a young boy named Bao, who is sent away for the summer to his grandfather’s residence in Quchi, a rural village outside Taipei. Away from the familiar high-tech gadgets, city boy Bao begins to see his grandpa’s idyllic life in Quchi with a fresh eye and finds creative means to engage in his surroundings.

In A BREATH FROM THE BOTTOM, viewers witness a conflict between a bitter activist peasant father and his son who is an ambitious police officer. The award-winning black-and-white short film is a dramatic yet realistic portrayal of grassroots activism in Taiwan.

Tainan-based stop-motion animation artist Hui-Ching Tseng’s extraordinarily diverse animation practice incorporates stop motion, 2D and 3D techniques featuring found objects, illustration, and photography. Tseng will lead two hands-on workshops to create 2-minute stop-motion animations together with local students from New York.

The Taiwanese film showcase has received the gracious sponsorship from Taipei Cultural Center in New York (TPECC).

For more information, please go to aaiff.org.