Josephine A. Blankstein

Four tales centered around gay women in contemporary Taiwan. (AsianMediaWiki)

When the President's only daughter, checks in for her chemotherapy, the heads of internal medicine and surgery try to prove themselves as the best candidate for the position of hospital director. Both appoint rival surgeons to attend to Xiuping's surgery. So on the day of the operation, Yi Hua, the most qualified surgeon for this operation, realizes that it is already done by Qing Cheng. The story goes on with struggles for power and prestige and love stories concerning the medical staff. (own)

Immediately thrusting its audience into a film within a film, Cheng Yu-Chieh's debut feature blurs the lines between fantasy and reality, drawing connections between the past, present and future. Set in a hip, ultra-modern Taipei milieu, Cheng's film benefits strongly from the work of cinematographer Jake Pollock, who enables the director to leap from light to dark and from surreal to real, creating a world rich in visual styles and possibilities. (Jonathan L. Knapp)

Shin and Hung are close buddies, but gradually Shin started to have feelings for Hung. Hung decided to join a gay beauty contest in order to gain USD 300,000 prize to pay his girlfriend's credit card debt. At the same time, an anti-gay cop, Jay, was assigned to pretend gay and join the contest to investigate a possible crime by gay-resented group. (imdb)

In late 19th-century Shanghai, the elegant "flower houses" serve as exclusive enclaves where wealthy patrons and courtesans navigate intricate social rituals. Master Wang forms a complex bond with Crimson, a veteran courtesan struggling to maintain her status amid shifting affections and debts. Through silent negotiations and subtle gestures, the closed world reveals fragile balance between power and affection.