Department of Cultural Affairs

The literature-centered annual Taipei Literature Film Festival is back this May! Featuring adaptations of novels and re-creations of masterpieces, this year’s festival features two key figures: Latin American literary master Gabriel García Márquez and Spanish film maestro Luis Buñuel Portolés. As we seamlessly transition from literature to film art, the festival pays homage and guides audience through the experience of the wide-ranging, rich artistic expressions of cinematic masters.

Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez is one of the most important novelists in post-war Latin America. His works consistently intertwined reality and fantasy in his uniquely magical, realist style. On one hand, he deeply delved into the portrayal of poverty, vulnerability, and authentic human nature, and on the other, his works reflected the internal complexities and external pressures South American societies experienced, earning him the distinction of being an eminent Spanish-language novelist. 

One Hundred Years of Solitude, Márquez’s magnum opus, was published in 1967 and set the bar for Latin American magical realism. The story offers insights into human desires and human nature, and details the rise and fall, joy and sorrow, machinations, eccentricities and vicissitudes of the Buendía family. Indeed, Márquez masterfully crafted an epic life story that traverses history, mythology, war, politics, and love.

In commemoration of the tenth anniversary of Márquez’s death, the documentary Gabo: The Creation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez has been specially selected to offer viewers a glimpse into Márquez’s authentic writer persona. The festival also features the adaptation Farewell to the Ark directed by Japanese avant-garde filmmaker Shuji Terayama who openly acknowledged Márquez’s deep influence on him. Terayama also adapted One Hundred Years of Solitude into a stage play that was staged multiple times and also directed the stylistically eerie magical classic Farewell to the Ark. From Latin American literature to Japanese poetry, this cross-cultural visual transformation enriches the cultural dialectics within One Hundred Years of Solitude.

The other focal point of this year’s festival is Luis Buñuel, a director, screenwriter, actor, composer, writer, and poet. Destined for a life of extraordinary creativity, Buñuel was acclaimed as the “father of surrealist cinema” (超現實主義電影之父), who astounded the film industry with his first short film Un Chien Andalou. 

Although Buñuel led a tumultuous life which saw him moving between Spain, Mexico, and France and facing censorship and bans owing to societal rejection of his works, he persevered in his creative journey and produced outstanding works that amazed the world. 

Buñuel’s friendship with Salvador Dalí also imbued his works with elements of surrealism and psychological analysis which constantly broadened the viewer’s perspective and transcended the limits of reality. 

Alongside the avant-garde classic Un Chien Andalou which was completed in collaboration with Dalí, several digitally restored iconic works including Le Fantôme de la liberté, Belle de Jour, Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie, and El ángel exterminador, will also be screened, allowing the audience to appreciate the artistic prowess of this surrealist cinematic master.

▍2024 Taipei Literature Festival - Taipei Literature Film Festival

Date | May 24 to June 6

Venue | SPOT - Taipei Film House, Taiwan