English
The 14th annual Urban Nomad Film Fest will take place in Taipei from April 18 to May 17, including a full-day music festival, rooftop film screenings, international director visits, a competition for Taiwanese short films and nearly 50 theater screenings, as well as parties, panel discussions and other events. The festival will present Taiwan premiers of more than 20 international films, especially award-winning documentaries that have played at top festivals like Sundance, Berlin, SXSW, Hot Docs and other top festivals. A local competition section will feature world premieres of two feature films, several Taiwan premieres and around 50 local short films in total. International guests include two US film directors, One9 and Chris Moukarbel, as well as Dan Nuxoll, programming director of New York’s Rooftop Films. Two screenings will focus on films related to Hong Kong’s Umbrella Protest Movement of last year. The majority of Urban Nomad’s film screenings will take place at the LUX Cinema from May 8 to May 17.
Urban Nomad will kick off on May 18, with the Shrimp Mania! Outdoor Music Festival from 2pm to midnight at Tiger Mountain, a private outdoor area in the foothills of the Taipei basin. The event will feature 8 bands and 5 DJs on two stages. The headliners are The Drowned Shrimp, an 8-piece funk band from Japan that dress as shrimps.
Rooftop screenings will take place at Taipei Artist Village on April 24 and May 3. These screenings, in a free and easy outdoor atmosphere, will feature extended programs, experimental content, talks and performances. The first will feature a dozen short films from Berlin’s Interfilm, one of Europe’s top festivals for short films, presented by German curator Heinze Hermanns. The second rooftop screening will focus on Taiwan’s indie music scene and include a performance by the experimental musician Huang Da-wang.
Urban Nomad’s international film section focuses on contemporary culture and issues. Highlights include a new documentary about the rapper Nas, Time is Illmatic, with Q&A by the Brooklyn based film director One9. The film Banksy Does New York looks at the work of street artist Banksy, who created one work a day in New York city during October 2013, releasing photos of the works on Instagram and sending all of New York city on a massive scavenger hunt. The “Neo-geo” film section looks at the intersection between the earth’s natural environment and human history. Award winning documentaries like Virunga, on armed conflict threatening a national park in the Congo, I Am Eleven, on the world seen through the eyes of 11-year-olds in dozens of countries around the world, and The Man Who Saved the World, about a Russian soldier who prevented World War III, look at how mankind is changing the natural environment. A music section features films on indie singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, metal band Lamb of God, the south Taiwan rock festival in the tiny fishing village of Keziliao, and a meditative documentary on the songs of the central African pygmies, Song from the Forest.
While Urban Nomad’s international programming introduces the most innovative ideas in film from around the world, local programming features Taiwan’s best new films. The competition section opened to feature films for the first time in 2015 and includes four feature-length films, as well as five programs of short films and one program of animation. The festival will offer more than $60,000 in cash prizes at its awards ceremony on May 17 at the LUX Cinema.
After the Taipei screenings, Urban Nomad will in June tour to the Hsinchu Image Museum and the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art, with additional touring in other cities possible and pending further announcements.
For a full film and event schedule and advance ticket information, please check: www.urbannomad.tw
URBAN NOMAD 2015 EVENTS:
April 18 (Sat) Shrimp Mania! Outdoor Music Festival
2pm – midnight @ Tiger Mountain, #186-1, Lane 221, Fude St, Taipei
$650 at door, or $500 advance through www.indievox.com or at KGB Burgers, Toasteria, Shrimp Daddy
April 24 (Fri) Rooftop Screening: The Best of Berlin
7-10pm @ Taipei Artist Village, 7 Beiping E Rd, Taipei
May 3 (Sun) Rooftop Screening: Experimental. Indie. Music.
6-10pm @ Taipei Artist Village, 7 Beiping E Rd, Taipei
May 8 – 17 Urban Nomad Film Fest
@ LUX Cinema, Taipei #85, Sec 2, Wuchang St, Taipei
Film Tickets:
$230 at the theater
$200 in advance through www.books.com.tw
4-ticket packs for $720 through www.books.com.tw
