From 17-24 June, Taiwanese film director Khan Lee, the younger brother of the Oscar-winning director Ang Lee, visited London to attend the London Screenings Festival. During his visit, the Taipei Representative Office in the UK (TRO) co-organised screenings of his films, Dream Flight, Attabu I, and Attabu II, with the Taiwan Chamber of Commerce and SOAS, University of London (SOAS) respectively.
The screening of Dream Flight was held at University College London on 21 June. The film tells the true story of Lt. Col. Lee Cheng-liang, a pilot of Taiwan’s Indigenous Defence Fighter, and his visually impaired wife. It is a film of romance and inspiration, describing young people pursuing their dream of joining the air force.
Attabu I and Attabu II were shown at SOAS on 20 and 21 June. The films portray an accurate account of the rise and fall of Taiwan’s Wufeng Lin family. Part I depicts the Lins sailing from China to Taiwan in 1746 where they would become one of the island’s most powerful clans. Part II continues the story from the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895 when Taiwan officially became a Japanese colony.
The screenings each attracted a large number of viewers, including Khan Lee himself, who held a discussion after each film. Khan Lee entered the film industry in 1994, winning Excellent Screenplay of the Year Award with his first script. In 1998 Lee made his directorial debut Cop Abula, which won the Special Prize at Taipei Film Festival and was screened at numerous prestigious festivals, including Cannes Film Festival.
