Under the wheel of life, three souls continually metamorphose into different characters, continuing their twisted romances over 300 years: a malicious secret policeman has a crush on a prestigious swordsman’s daughter; a man from a rich family falls in love with a lower-class Chinese opera diva; and a modern dancer encounters a shaman from a fishing village. All three romances center on an ancient dagger and the tragedies it causes.

From esteemed directors King HU, LI Hsing and PAI Ching-Jui, The Wheel of Life marks the trio’s second collaboration following Four Moods. The film consists of three vignettes with the same cast of three actors. Each director brings his own signature style. The first segment by King HU showcases vivid, stylized wuxia imagery against the backdrop of the secret police system in the Ming Dynasty. The second segment by LI Hsing is a melodrama on frustrated love separated by class and conservative traditions. The third segment by PAI Ching-Jui reflects the urban-rural contrast, and the conflict between the modern and the traditional. His subject and style could be regarded as the vanguard of Taiwan New Cinema. (Source: Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute).

An In-Depth View into the Life and Works of This Great Artist of 20th Century

 Yang’s daughter Kuan-Qian leads us through the master’s life-long journey of learning and creation. Renowned Chinese artist, environmental designer and architect, Yu-Yu YANG (YANG Ying-Feng, 1926-1997), was born in Ilan County, Taiwan and studied in Tokyo and Beijing. A pioneer in public art in Taiwan, Yang used stainless steel in his sculptures and showed his respect for both nature and the arts. Over 60 years, he held numerous exhibitions worldwide. Many of his works have now become majestic landmarks. (Source: Creative Century Entertainment Co., Ltd.)

Taiwan has the second-highest religious diversity in the world. The belief of God, Buddha, Allah, all sorts of deities and indigenous spirits coexist on this island. This series of films seeks to guide the audience to explore the religions in Taiwan in a rational way, and attempts to have a better understanding of how one’s life is guided by beliefs, and how beliefs in turn respond to one’s mind.

In choosing how they want to deliver their child, few women in Taiwan have options other than the standard procedures at hospitals: they push on you, they cut you, they’re quick to perform surgeries. There is a small network of women working to change this. This is a documentary about the 0.1% of women in Taiwan seeking alternative, gentler birthing methods, and the midwives and doulas helping them.

ZHANG is the sterilization officer and a psychic for a fertility goddess. As a woman and one that has conflicting identities, she is caught between contradicting beliefs. She went as far as sterilizing her own daughter-in-law. However, as her life progresses, her ideas also change. How will she reconcile the conflicting ideas that come from her identities?

(From the director) This story begins with a man’s portrait hanging in my family home in Malaysia. The identity of this man has always been a taboo, until one day I discovered it was my grandfather, whose identity was hidden from me because he was a member of the Malayan Communist Party. This is a journey to discover the secret history of my country through the eyes of my grandfather. (Source: Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute)