“From Island to Island” Taiwan Spotlight Screening Draws Strong Response in Los Angeles

AACYF/LAPost/Culver City, CA (November 17, 2025) — The Taiwanese documentary From Island to Island, Taiwan’s official submission for the 2025 Academy Awards® Best Documentary Feature, held a special screening at The Culver Theatre today as part of the AWFF’S Focus on Taiwan program. The 290-minute epic was followed by a 15-minute intermission and an engaging Q&A session with director Lau Kek-huat, concluding with a reception that brought together filmmakers, scholars, and members of the Taiwanese and Asian American communities.

A 290-Minute Documentary Reconstructing Overlooked Asian War Memories

Directed by Lau Kek-huat and produced by Lin Wan-yu, From Island to Island revisits Taiwan’s difficult past during World War II, when the island was under Japanese colonial rule. Through extensive interviews, archival research, and on-location filming across Taiwan and Southeast Asia, the film uncovers the buried experiences of Taiwanese soldiers and civilians who were swept into the machinery of war.

Filmed in a mosaic of languages—including Taiwanese, Mandarin, Hakka, Cantonese, Malay, English, Malaysian, and Hokkien—the documentary weaves together stories from across multiple island nations, exploring how colonialism reshaped identities, families, and historical memory.

Director Lau Kek-huat Shares His Creative Journey

During the post-screening Q&A, director Lau explained that the film’s expansive runtime was intentional:

“History has long been fragmented or silenced. To heal, we must first listen. Every testimony in this film deserves its space.”

He emphasized that much of Taiwan’s wartime experience remains unfamiliar even to Taiwanese audiences, let alone international viewers. The documentary, he noted, aims to restore continuity between Taiwan and the broader Asian region—what he calls “a shared island-to-island memory across oceans.”

Audience members expressed appreciation for the film’s depth, calling it “a rare and necessary reconstruction of Asian wartime history.”

Reception Encourages Cultural Exchange

Following the screening, guests gathered for a reception that fostered cross-cultural dialogue. Filmmakers, students, and diaspora community members discussed the film’s relevance today, especially as more Asian stories gain visibility on global platforms such as the Oscars.

The evening’s strong turnout and thoughtful discussion underscored the growing interest in Taiwan’s history, identity, and documentary storytelling.

From Island to Island continues to build momentum internationally as Taiwan’s Oscars® submission, offering a powerful, humanized perspective on a chapter of history too often overlooked.