TPNWCP Thomas Lin Shu-Yu Series: "Winds of September (九降風)" 1-Day Film Screening

*As part of the 2020 Taiwan Post-New Wave Cinema Project, we kindly ask that you register to view this film through Eventbrite .

Please Note: Due to licencing regulations we are required to prioritise audiences based in the UK for this film. As such, only those who have registered with a .uk email address will be provided with screening links.

Synopsis

1996, during the time of the tragic Taiwan baseball scandal, the story follows Yen and Tang and their gang of friends through the last year of their high school life. From chasing girls after school, midnight skinny dipping at the school pool to supporting their favourite baseball team, the China Times Eagles, they did everything together, with Yen being their leader.

One night, because of an accident and the carelessness of the other boys, Yen falls into a coma and everything starts falling apart. With guilt hovering over the other boys, conflicts surface, but Yen is not there to resolve them. Tang, not wanting to lose another friend, tries his best to become Yen, but to no avail, it only resulted in more aggression and hatred. Like the scandalous China Times Eagles’ final fate, their friendship ended, never to return.

On the day of graduation, Tang chooses not to attend the ceremony, but to fulfil the promise he made with Yen, which is to go down south together to seek out their Baseball hero. Upon reaching the baseball field, he finds the place empty. Empty as it is, Tang still finds the answer he came looking for...

Director Thomas Lin Shu-Yu

Born in 1976, Tom Shu-Yu Lin is commonly regarded as one of the most promising new filmmakers emerging from Taiwan. After receiving his M.F.A. from California Institute of the Arts in 2002, Tom started working in the Taiwanese film industry as the first assistant director to filmmakers such as Tsai Ming-Liang and Doze Niu. In 2005, Lin directed his breakthrough short film, THE PAIN OF OTHERS and in 2008, his first feature film WINDS OF SEPTEMBER. Both films have been screened at various festivals throughout the world and both have been critically acclaimed and loved by audiences. Since he lived in the Unites States when he was a child, he grew up learning both Chinese and English, giving him the ability to communicate fluently in both languages. His films all carry a distinctive mix of cultural backgrounds. His works are often filled with dramatic tension, yet within the story explore the most basic problems of humanity, creating believable characters that touch the heart. He followed it in 2012 with STARRY STARRY NIGHT, an adaptation from Jimmy Liao’s famous illustration book. Because of his bicultural upbringing, his films all carry a distinct mix of cultural backgrounds, finding a balance between western narrative and eastern meditation.

Organiser: SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies

Contact email: ml156@soas.ac.uk