{"id":15137,"date":"2025-11-17T23:04:29","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T23:04:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/?p=15137"},"modified":"2025-11-17T23:04:30","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T23:04:30","slug":"from-island-to-island-taiwan-spotlight-screening-draws-strong-response-in-los-angeles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/?p=15137","title":{"rendered":"\u201cFrom Island to Island\u201d Taiwan Spotlight Screening Draws Strong Response in Los Angeles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

AACYF<\/strong>\/LAPost\/Culver City, CA (November 17, 2025) \u2014<\/strong> The Taiwanese documentary From Island to Island<\/em>, Taiwan\u2019s official submission for the 2025 Academy Awards\u00ae Best Documentary Feature<\/strong>, held a special screening at The Culver Theatre today as part of the AWFF’S Focus on Taiwan<\/strong> program. The 290-minute epic was followed by a 15-minute intermission and an engaging Q&A session with director Lau Kek-huat<\/strong>, concluding with a reception that brought together filmmakers, scholars, and members of the Taiwanese and Asian American communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 290-Minute Documentary Reconstructing Overlooked Asian War Memories<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Directed by Lau Kek-huat and produced by Lin Wan-yu<\/strong>, From Island to Island<\/em> revisits Taiwan\u2019s difficult past during World War II<\/strong>, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Filmed in a mosaic of languages\u2014including Taiwanese, Mandarin, Hakka, Cantonese, Malay, English, Malaysian, and Hokkien<\/strong>\u2014the documentary weaves together stories from across multiple island nations, exploring how colonialism reshaped identities, families, and historical memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director Lau Kek-huat Shares His Creative Journey<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

During the post-screening Q&A, director Lau explained that the film\u2019s expansive runtime was intentional:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cHistory has long been fragmented or silenced. To heal, we must first listen. Every testimony in this film deserves its space.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

He emphasized that much of Taiwan\u2019s 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\u2014what he calls \u201ca shared island-to-island memory across oceans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Audience members expressed appreciation for the film\u2019s depth, calling it \u201ca rare and necessary reconstruction of Asian wartime history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reception Encourages Cultural Exchange<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Following the screening, guests gathered for a reception that fostered cross-cultural dialogue. Filmmakers, students, and diaspora community members discussed the film\u2019s relevance today, especially as more Asian stories gain visibility on global platforms such as the Oscars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The evening\u2019s strong turnout and thoughtful discussion underscored the growing interest in Taiwan\u2019s history, identity, and documentary storytelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Island to Island<\/em> continues to build momentum internationally as Taiwan\u2019s Oscars\u00ae submission, offering a powerful, humanized perspective on a chapter of history too often overlooked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AACYF\/LAPost\/Culver City, CA...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15137"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15138,"href":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15137\/revisions\/15138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}