The Man Who Couldn't Leave (MIFF XR)

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The winner of Venice’s Best Immersive Experience award remembers Taiwan’s political detainees.

During the White Terror of the 1950s, a period of martial law in Taiwan after the authoritarian Kuomintang government was exiled there from mainland China, Green Island became a prison for political dissidents. Using 360-degree VR to submerge viewers within the jail’s walls, director Chen Singing draws on archival documents to commemorate those affected, honouring the hopes, sacrifices and suffering of preceding generations.

We follow former prisoner A-Kuen as he wanders through a ‘wax museum’ of memory, where figures come to life and tell their stories: he recounts the experiences of his friend A-Ching as well as those of A-Ching’s wife and his daughter, who is determined to keep her father’s memory alive. This heartfelt plea for justice comes to MIFF after screening at worldwide festivals including Venice, Sheffield and NewImages, where it won the Special Cinematographic Distinction prize.