Taiwanese Films ‘A Holy Family’ and ‘Far Away Eyes’ Selected in Visions Du Réel Festival in Switzerland

Two Taiwanese films, “A Holy Family” and “Far Away Eyes”, are selected in Visions du Réel, one of the most internationally renowned festivals for documentaries and experimental films for its 2022 edition. “A Holy Family” by director Elvis A-Liang Lu will compete in the International Feature section, the competitive section of the festival for feature documentaries which hosts around twelve to fifteen films from all over the world, while “Far Away Eyes” by director Wang Chun-Hong will compete in the Burning Lights section, dedicated to cross-boundaries works between fiction and documentaries as well as experimental films.

“A Holy Family” is Elvis A-Liang Lu’s second feature documentary; it recounts the personal story of the director traveling back to his countryside home in Minxiong after 20 years, to finally face the misunderstandings and the superstition brought about by the powers of his elder brother, a psychic whose powers to talk to the Gods have convinced A-Liang’s father to gamble all his money on the underground lottery, bringing the family on the verge of economic collapse. The film was previously selected at the Venice Biennale’s Financing Gap Market.

The director expressed his feeling of excitement as he received the news. "I am very grateful that A HOLY FAMILY is selected in Visions du Reel, which is for me a temple of documentary cinema. When I was 18, films brought me away from my hometown of Minxiong; after 24 years, films are bringing me back home. I want to thank my family, my Taiwanese and French teams, as well TAICCA and Chiayi County Government who all contributed to the making of this film. This is a crucial step not only in my career but also in my life and I can't wait to share the film with audiences across the world and in Taiwan".

“Far Away Eyes” follows the journey of a young man, interpreted by director Wang himself, wandering through the streets of Taipei right before the 2019 presidential election and right before he turns 30, at a time when his ex-girlfriend is about to leave the country and he is striving to find a job.

Both films are independently produced by Taiwanese production company Volos Films, and co-produced by French companies Films de Force Majeure (A Holy Family) and 24 Images (Far Away Eyes), and have both been produced with the help of Taiwan Content Creative Agency (TAICCA) through its co-funding schemes and awards. Volos Films, a MOU partner of TAICCA, is also represented in the festival’s project market with the Rough Cut of documentary “Our Second Home”.

Both “A Holy Family” and “Far Away Eyes” have already secured distribution thanks to local distributor i-Film and are planned for release during the second half of 2022, while international sales for “Far Away Eyes” are handled by Rediance.