Taiwan debut Will You Still Be My Friend moves from San Sebastian to Busan
A first film from Taiwan sold out every one of its Spanish premiere screenings on the first day tickets went on sale. Now it is heading to Korea with award nominations and a home release date locked in.
"Will You Still Be My Friend" is the debut feature of Taiwanese director Lu Po-Shun, according to Variety. It premiered at San Sebastián in Spain. It now plays in A Window on Asian Cinema, a section for recent Asian films, at the Busan International Film Festival.
The story is set in Yunlin County on Taiwan's southwest coast. It follows two boys whose friendship comes under strain as arguments among adults divide their community. Festival listings describe the pair as Jun, a boy who loves to run and play, and Jasper, a city boy from Singapore. The Busan festival lists the production as a Taiwan-Singapore film.
Lu built the feature from his short "When Henge Meets Crescent." That short was made for "Quarantini," a pandemic anthology from Taiwanese broadcaster PTS. The San Sebastián festival lists the new film under the title "Ri guang / Will You Still Be My Friend."
The response in Spain was fast. All four San Sebastián screenings sold out on the first day of ticket sales. The film then stayed among the top three during voting for the festival's youth award.
One of its young stars is new to the screen. Jaden Wang, who is of Taiwanese and Italian heritage, was found through a social media account run by his mother. His work has earned him a nomination for new performer at Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards, the leading prizes for Chinese-language cinema. The film is also nominated for adapted screenplay.
Business around the film is moving too. Moveria has boarded international sales, meaning it will sell distribution rights to buyers country by country, as reported by Variety. In Taiwan, a cinema release is scheduled for Dec. 4.
What makes this stand out is the path. A short made for lockdown television has grown into a cross-border feature. It has played to full houses, picked up major nominations, and secured a route to audiences abroad before it opens at home.
