Lee Teng-hui in new film about Taiwan democracy

US filmmakers probe murky waters of Taiwan democracy through interviews with Japanese PM, US congressional hearing, and Taiwanese politicians

The new documentary GODSPEED TAIWAN pursues the complicated -- and often controversial -- issue of Taiwanese politics through interviews with top politicians in Taiwan, the US and Japan. Los Angeles-based production company Gatling Pictures has created the first international documentary in more than a decade to look Taiwan’s history of martial law and its uncertain political future. Interviewees include former Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui, Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, US congressional representatives, media mogul Jimmy Lai, filmmaker Wu Nien-jen and top politicians from Taiwan’s two opposed political camps. The film will have its international premiere at the Urban Nomad Film Fest in Taipei on Friday at 3pm.

Taiwan remains divided between those who strive to establish closer ties to China and those fighting to maintain the political status quo and more, the United States continues to toe a precarious diplomatic line with regard to Cross-Strait relations. By "opposing" Taiwanese independence, but also promising to adhere to its pledge to militarily defend Taiwan in the event of an act of Chinese aggression, the U.S. policy of intentional ambiguity has created great confusion about its role and responsibilities in the Asia Pacific.

The film is helmed by director/producers Jeff Broadway, an American, and Kai Boydell, a Canadian. The main producer is Taiwanese Sam Lang. Together, they aim to represent the myriad of opinions about Taiwan and the realpolitik that will determine the island-nation’s future. "Our goal in producing this film is to strike a balance between politics, culture and history and offer a fresh, contemporary perspective that an international audience can understand."

Through exclusive interviews with Lee, Abe, former Taiwanese presidential candidate Peng Ming-min, DPP legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (DPP), Justin Chou (KMT), US congressman Lester Wolff (D) and other top policymakers, as well as rare footage of congressional hearings on Taiwan, they hope to catalyze an international conversation about Taiwan’s fate and the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region as a whole.

“Godspeed Taiwan” will be shown as a "work in progress" at SPOT Huashan as part of the Urban Nomad Film Festival of Taipei at 15:00 on May 3rd and May 5th. The filmmakers are actively seeking finishing funds for post-production -- hence its "work in progress" status. Following the Sunday, May 5 screening, there will be a discussion panel featuring the film’s producers and journalists Michael Cole (Taipei Times), Martin Williams (president of the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents Club) and Taiwanese journalist TC Chang. Everyone -- politicians included -- are welcome to participate in the discussion.

WHAT: Theatrical screenings of GODSPEED TAIWAN
WHEN: May 3rd, 3pm
              May 5, 3pm with panel discussion
WHERE: SPOT Huashan (No. 1, Section 1, Bādé Rd, Taipei, Taiwan)

To purchase tickets, visit:
http://tickets.books.com.tw/progshow/01030001040098

Advance Tickets Now On Sale

Tickets are now on sale for all feature film programs. You can purchase advance tickets here.

This year Urban Nomad will present 17 international documentaries, our short film awards program, 11 short film programs and panel discussions on crowdfunding, animation and radical approaches to doducmentary. Highlights will include visits to Taiwan by Danish film director Mads Brugger and French filmmaker Jerome de Missolz, who will present their films on the festivals opening two days (April 26 and 27), and then appear together in a panel discussion on Sunday, April 28.

Brugger is a maverick documentary filmmaker who uses Borat like approach to filmmaking, though his goals as an investigative journalist are certainly more noble if no less entertaining. In THE RED CHAPEL, winner of the 2010 Sundance Jury Prize for International Documentary, he brings a Danish theater troupe to North Korea to put on an absurd performance in an even more absurd country. In his latest, highly celebrated documentary, THE AMBASSADOR, he heads to the Central African Republic posing as a diplomat and trying to buy conflict diamonds.

Jerome de Missolz is a veteran documentary filmmaker of French TV, specializing in experimental documentary and histories of rock n roll. This year for Urban Nomad, he brings both strains together in KIDS OF TODAY, an encounter between young, hard partying staff of a Paris music magazine and the veteran French rock critic Yves Adrien.

ADVANCE TICKETS
You can buy advance tickets for $200/each or 4 tickets for NT$720 ($180 each) through: http://tickets.books.com.tw.

To buy tickets, you will need to register an account with Books.com.tw. Once you have an account, you can place your order online, then pay at 7 Eleven through the ibon machine, where they will print your ticket. There is a $30 service charge for each purchase of 1 to 4 tickets, i.e. 4 ticket packs are $750, 3 tickets $630, 2 tickets $430, etc. For more info, see the purchasing instructions (in Chinese only).

Seating is first come first serve. All films have Chinese+English. For news about sold-out screenings please check the left column of this site. If a screening is not sold out, there will be tickets available at the door.

2013 Short Film Selections

Short film lovers, directors, fellow nomads, the list is out!

Here is the list of short films that will be screened in the 2013 Urban Nomad Short Film Program. We will send out more info about the screening schedule and all the films very soon, but for now, here is the list of OFFICIAL SELECTIONS and AWARD NOMINEES.

2013 URBAN NOMAD OPENING PARTY

In the true festival spirit, we are going to have a whole lotta fun on our opening weekend. We have invited electro dance rockers Mop of Head from Japan, after seeing them rock the socks off of 5,000 people at Fuji Rock last year. We also have one of our favorite DJs from our favorite label, Mad Decent ~ South Rakkas Crew, says The Guardian, produces “some of the most electrifying dance music on the planet.” Juicy Lero Lero, a Cosplay weirdness band from Japan, will add double shot of insanity. DJ Noodles just tore it up so much at our stage for the Mega Port festival in early March we couldnt not invite her back. DJ Marcus Aurelius is a rock steady party stalwart, Pro Res makes a Taipei debut from Brickyard in Kaohsiung, Hang in the Air is one of the best reggae bands on the island, and there will be an 8bit DJ + VJ show by up and comers Physical Chemical Brothers. Eight hours of fun, people! Remember to stretch :)

時間｜Time： 4/27 （Sat/六） 7:30pm doors
地點｜Place：Huashan 1914 Creative Park 1, Sec 1, Bade Rd
                         華山1914創意園區 台北市八德路一段1號3東A
門票｜Ticket: $800 door / $650 advance (on sale from 3/20)
預售｜Buy tix: www.iNDIEVOX.com, AMPM, KGB, Toasteria, Screaming (3/18 starts)
臉書｜Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/547546685285554/

★★★★ MOP of HEAD ★★★★

Tokyo's Mop of Head have played big stages at Fuji Rock in each of the past two years, had their song "Retronix Symphony" listed as one of the top tracks of 2011 by BBC Radio 1 DJ Gilles Peterson, and supported the Japanese tour of the German electro-house duo Digitalism. Think Justice, Daft Punk or Boyz Noize, but coming from a 4-piece band. When we saw them rocking a dance party of 5,000 at Fuji Rock last year, we knew they had to play Urban Nomad!!! Though band members claim rock influences like Led Zepplin, Primal Scream, Hi-Standard and Stevie Wonder, the band initially came together because they wanted to figure out how to play live rock versions of breakbeats, dubstep, drum ‘n’ bass, house and club music in general. Then they added electronic loops, which they distort and manipulate live. Its been almost a year since we last saw them play. We cant friggin wait!

http://mopofhead.com/

Did You Receive My Film?

If you submitted a film to Urban Nomads 2013 Short Film Competition, thanks! We have had fun reviewing all your films these past two weeks. You can confirm that we received your submission at the following link:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AvzSrxBvGOX7dHNuWEE1SXpyZUtxMlMwcFlGUmJ5bGc#gid=0

Applications for volunteers are closed. We have had a great number of volunteers apply this year, more in fact than we can probably find jobs for. We would like to thank all of you good hearted, culture loving people who applied. We will begin organizing the volunteers towards the end of March. Please be patient until then.

2013 Call for Film Submissions and Volunteers

DOWNLOAD THE 2013 SUBMISSION FORM

DEADLINE (short films): March 1, 2013
DEADLINE (feature length): Feb 15, 2013

URBAN NOMAD 2013
Hootie hoo! This year Urban Nomad will run from April 26 to May 5 in Taipei. We can't wait to get started, so let's go ahead and announce it: We hereby welcome submissions of short films (45min or less), video art, documentaries (short or feature length), skateboarding films and any other moving images you can compress to a digital file or DVD!!! Yes, send us your awesome! We will also consider proposals for VJ performances, audio-visual performances (not bands), installations or other other genre-bending works. We love weird stuff and will try to make things happen.

VOLUNTEER
If you live in Taipei, and would like to volunteer for the festival, please send us an email with VOLUNTEER in the subject line. Include your telephone number, email and other important contact info, as well as any relevant experience and how you think you can help us. Check here for more info on how to volunteer.

MORE INFO ABOUT THE SHORT FILM COMPETITION IS BELOW.

Urban Nomad Block Party: Powered by NVidia

On October 20, 2012 we had a very cool chance to produce a DJ Stage for the Daniel Pearl World Day of Music in Taipei, a free outdoor concert with three stages. Our DJ corner, a.k.a. The Urban Nomad Block Party, was powered by NVidia, a sponsor which offered great support for a very cool lighting setup. The DJs were all killing it, but the star of the show had to be the VJ, Dr DMT, who set up some truly amazing mapped projections, so awesome in fact the first reaction of nearly everyone was to pull out their iPhone and shoot a video of it. In all, we had 2,500-3,000 people show up. Thanks to NVidia, the DJs, and all of you who came out!

More pics are posted on the other side of the link.

URBAN NOMAD x DESIGN CINEMA

Urban Nomad has hooked up with Taiwan Designers Week to create a weeklong film series called URBAN NOMAD x DESIGN CINEMA, which will run from Sep 15 to 23 at the Taipei Expo Park. The series includes seven films covering all aspects of design: graphic design, product design, architecture, urban planning, digital design, fashion design and street art. Many of them are award-winning docs with great pedigrees at big film festivals like Sundance, SXSW, Hot Docs and the rest. The films include three Taiwan premiers: The Pruitt-Igoe Myth (about the St. Louis housing project), Indie Game: The Movie (about video game developers), and How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster? (about the architect Norman Foster). There are also a couple of favorites from recent years, including Helvetica, a 2007 film that started a trend of docs on design, and the street art doc Beautiful Losers. The idea is to bring a bit of context and historical view to a design exhibition that's otherwise mainly looking forward. Amongst all the new, cool designs, we think it's also a good thing to look back. Design is very trendy right now. It might be a good idea to wonder why that's so.

EVENT:  URBAN NOMAD x DESIGN CINEMA
DATES:  9/15 ~ 23
PLACE:  Taiwan Designers Week @ Taipei Expo Park #1 Yumen St (台北市玉門街1號)
GET THERE:  A map and stuff
TICKETS: $170 advance @ tickets.books.com.tw│$200 door
Tickets include free entry to the design exhibition after 6pm on the day of the screening.

CLICK HERE FOR FILM INFO!!!!

Taiwan Designers Week website: http://www.designersweek.tw/

ANVIL! THE BAND AND THE MOVIE! LIVE IN TAIPEI!

YOU'VE SEEN THE MOVIE, NOW SEE THE BAND !!!

FILM: ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL
Location：Huashan 1914 Creative Park, Building 中2, 2F
#1, Sec 1, Bade Rd, Taipei
華山文化創意園區 中2館2樓 台北市八德路一段1號　　　　　
Time：6/30 (Sat) 7:00pm film screening 《ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL》
           7/1 (Sun) 1:30pm  film screening 《ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL》w/ band Q&A!!!
           7/1 (Sun) 4:00pm  film screening 《ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL》
Ticket：NT 150｜at the door
＊50 free film tickets are available to concert ticket holders at each screening, on a first come first serve basis. You can pick up the free tickets from 6-9pm on June 30, or 1pm on July 1. There is a limit of two ticket exchanges per person.
＊＊SEATING: Please note, most of the seating will be on the floor. It's a wooden floor covered by a soft surface for dancing, so it's reasonably comfortable. Feel free to bring your own cushions or camp chairs.
＊＊＊The screening schedule was updated on 6/22.


CONCERT: ANVIL LIVE IN TAIPEI
Date：July 1 (Sun)
Time：8pm
Location：Legacy (@Huashan)
Ticket：NT 1200

The Urban Nomad Film Fest will present one of the most rocking documentaries of all time, ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL on July 1, with a Q&A with band members from the documentary. These two screenings comes right before the heavy metal band Anvil plays its first ever concert in Taiwan as part of the Célébration Canada, a celebration of Canada's national day, at the Huashan 1914 Creative Park on July 1 at 8pm. So get ready to rock out with your cock out! Coz they sure as hell don't make bands like Anvil anymore!

Keep reading for more info on the film, the band and the upcoming events.

Taichung Screenings: May 22 to June 10

Tsai Hsu-cheng (bottom left), director of Time of Cherry Blossoms and winner of the 2012 Big Nomad Award, and festival director Dave Frazier (bottom right) at the Taiwan National Museum of Fine Arts on May 27, 2012.

Urban Nomad's 2012 program is touring to the Taiwan National Museum of Fine Arts from May 22 to June 10. This will include almost the entire 2012 program as it screened in Taipei, including Lemmy, Greatest Movie Ever Sold, If a Tree Falls and much more. See full schedule details below.

Venue：Taiwan National Museum of Fine Arts

Address：#2 Wuquan West Rd, Sec 2, Taichung City
台中市西區五權西路一段 2 號

Tel：(04) 2372-3552

Museum website：http://www.ntmofa.gov.tw/
Dates：5/22 to 6/10
Link to schedule：here

Q&A SESSIONS：
5/27 （Sun） 4:20pm
Film：《Time of Cherry Blossoms》winner of the 2012 Big Nomad Award
Speakers：Tsai Hsu-cheng, film director ＋ David Frazier, Urban Nomad curator 

6/2（Sat）3pm

Film：《Green Peace: The Story》
Speaker：Frances Lo, Green Peace Regional Development Officer

6/10（Sat）3pm
Film：《Rainbow Over the Ruins》2012 Urban Nomad Special Mention
Speaker：Sandy Lo, film director and independent curator