Taipei, Sept. 15 (CNA) An annual film festival featuring movies on peace-related subjects was launched Saturday in Taipei in the hope that the people of Taiwan can learn something about the global immigration phenomenon.
The 2007 Peace Film Festival will screen 20 movies in Taipei, Hsinchu and Taichung from Sept. 15-Oct. 19. The festival presents various viewpoints about immigration and conflicts among ethnic groups from different countries such as Taiwan, Israel, Turkey and Italy, said Chien Hsi-chieh, chief executive officer of the Peacetime Foundation of Taiwan, the festival organizer.
The closing film, The Nyonya's Taste of Life, directed by Wen Chih-yi, features the story of two female Indonesian caretakers and a Thai worker in Taiwan. Wen said she tried to tell the story from the perspective of migrant workers.
Nyonya is a Southeast Asian cuisine that mixes Taiwanese and Malaysian food ingredients, which symbolizes the co-existence of Taiwanese and new immigrants in Taiwan, Wen said.
Golden Door, the opening film, also addresses the struggle and experience of an Italian immigrant family in the United States.
"The world is experiencing the same immigration and conflicts of ethnic groups and Taiwan has a lot to learn. We have to learn how to treat new immigrants with respect and respect their basic human rights, " said well-known director Hou Hsiao-hsien.
"If Taiwan could develop a complete system or mechanism that takes care of all the new immigrants and migrant workers, it would be the best diplomacy for our government, " Hou said.
"You don't assimilate different ethnic groups or merge them into your own. You try to understand and accept different people, " Chien said.
Chien said the festival also used the theme of ethnic groups in 2002. Organizers decided to use the theme again this year because the conflicts between different ethnic groups have been heating up as the 2008 presidential election approaches.