THE TEACHER (Wo de ling hun shi ai zuo de)
Dir: Ming-Lang Chen 92 min | 2019 | Taiwan | Mandarin | Narrative Feature
When the 26-year-old Civics teacher, Kevin (Oscar Chiu), openly voices his stance on marriage equality at school, he stirs up a storm. His being madly in love with an HIV positive man Jin-Wu Gao (Chin-Hao Chang) doesn't sit well with all the people around him. After revealing his affair, Kevin must face his mother (Tzu-hua Ho) with whom he still lives. When a rumour spreads that Kevin is also HIV positive, his school administration takes every avenue available to force his resignation, while he manoeuvres the fear of AIDS and a compounded love triangle with his lover's wife. Set against the backdrop of the fight for marriage equality in Taiwan, The Teacher captures the friction of living in a country moving towards progressiveness while still grappling with conservative attitudes. A love letter to Taiwan, it explores culture, expectation and the occasional hypocrisy of love.
Dir: Ming-Lang Chen 92 min | 2019 | Taiwan | Mandarin | Narrative Feature
When the 26-year-old Civics teacher, Kevin (Oscar Chiu), openly voices his stance on marriage equality at school, he stirs up a storm. His being madly in love with an HIV positive man Jin-Wu Gao (Chin-Hao Chang) doesn't sit well with all the people around him. After revealing his affair, Kevin must face his mother (Tzu-hua Ho) with whom he still lives. When a rumour spreads that Kevin is also HIV positive, his school administration takes every avenue available to force his resignation, while he manoeuvres the fear of AIDS and a compounded love triangle with his lover's wife. Set against the backdrop of the fight for marriage equality in Taiwan, The Teacher captures the friction of living in a country moving towards progressiveness while still grappling with conservative attitudes. A love letter to Taiwan, it explores culture, expectation and the occasional hypocrisy of love.