Internationally-Acclaimed film to screen at the 2012 Taiwan Film Festival at UT-Austin

Press Release

Press Division, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston
11 Greenway Plaza, Suite 2015, Houston, TX 77046
Contact: Michael Lin, Press Officer chengerh20@mail.gio.gov.tw or by phone 713-838-5668
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Internationally-Acclaimed film to screen at the 2012 Taiwan Film Festival at UT-Austin

The Department of Asian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin and the Press Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston will screen the internationally-acclaimed Taiwanese film written and directed by Leon Dai, “YOU CANNOT DO WITHOUT”, 7:00 PM Friday, April 2oth 2012 in Studio 4D CMB 2504 Whitis Avenue, Austin, TX 78712, (corner of Guadalupe and Whitis).

The film has received many prestigious awards such as: the One Million Award in the Feature Film category at the 2009 Taipei Film Festival; Best Dramatic Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Outstanding Taiwanese film of the Year at the 46th Golden Horse Awards; the Golden Peacock Award for Best Film at the International Film Festival of India; also Best Director and Best Cinematography Award at the 53rd Asia Pacific Film Festival.

Brief Synopsis of the Film: Li Wu-hsiung is a middle-aged man from a small fishing village in Kaohsiung. Poor and uneducated, he works odd jobs painting, welding and dismantling cargo ships for scrap. Seven years ago, Li had a baby daughter with his girlfriend, who left never to be found after giving birth. Li raises his daughter as a single parent; and when she turns seven he attempts to enroll her in school only to discover that the mother was married to another at the time of birth, blocking Li from legal custody. A downward spiral of legal and emotional intrigue ensues culminating in erratic high drama on a Kaohsiung overpass.
For more information about the screening please contact Professor Chien-hsin Tsai at the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Texas by e-mail at: chtsai@mail.utexas.edu