2016 "Thinking Reform" Film Festival in Taichung
Last edited: 2026-08-30
Poster Design / Chen Chih-hao (Match Café)
Through six films, we bring together six life stories. Perhaps you have never heard these stories before; perhaps you have heard them but forgotten; or perhaps, you and I have actually found ourselves right inside these stories.
The protagonists of these life stories are: a police officer helplessly yielding to the system, a teenager living in terror of corporal punishment, a young girl forced into sex work, a gay person fighting for rights for their partner, a mother who forgave the killer of her child, and a miscarriage-of-justice defendant endlessly proving his innocence.
Here, let us use these life stories and the perspectives of different guest speakers to catch glimpses of the different facets and imprints of our society, and let us discuss and reflect together.
"Thinking" means breadth of vision and a process of construction.
"Reform" means striving persistently toward something better, even if it is not yet perfect.
Venue
Taichung Office, Judicial Reform Foundation (2F., No. 845, Sec. 2, Taiwan Blvd., Xitun Dist., Taichung City)
Schedule
| Time | Film | ||
| 4/23 (Sat.) 12:50 | Eyes Without a Face (110 mins) |
Wu Yu-chin JRF Volunteer (Pharmacist) |
Deserts Xuan, Lead Vocalist of Tiger Chocolate, Actress Chiang Cheng-feng, Attorney, James International Law Firm |
| 4/24 (Sun.) 13:50 | The Nine-Life Cat (50 mins) |
Lin Chiung-yu JRF Volunteer (Teacher, Fusing Junior High School) |
Hsieh Shu-mei, Deputy Executive Director, Association for Humanistic Education Chen I-wen, Executive Secretary, Taichung Office, Association for Humanistic Education |
| 4/25 (Mon.) 18:20 | Starting Point (55 mins) |
Chen Yung-chen JRF Volunteer |
Lee Chia-hua, Director Wu Chia-chen, Deputy Executive Director, Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty |
| 4/26 (Tue.) 17:20 | The Journey: Viêt Nam (90 mins) |
Chen I-chen Executive Secretary, Taichung Office, Judicial Reform Foundation |
Lee Mau-sheng, Professor, Department of Law, National Taiwan University Lin Shu-ya, Assistant Professor, Department of Law, Providence University |
| 4/27 (Wed.) 18:20 | Freeheld Documentary (40 mins) |
Wang Wei-ching JRF Volunteer (Graduate Student, Graduate Institute of Law, Feng Chia University) |
Cindy Chia-Chieh Chien, Secretary-General, Taiwan Alliance for Advancement of Youth Rights and Welfare |
| 4/28 (Thu.) 17:50 | Free Indeed (105 mins) |
Yu Wan-chen JRF Volunteer (Department of Law, Providence University) |
Yen Hsin-yin, Defense Attorney for Hsu Tzu-chiang's Case Hsu Tzu-chiang, Defendant |
Film Introductions
"Eyes Without a Face"—110 mins
Moderator
Wu Yu-chin / JRF Volunteer (Pharmacist)
Guest Speaker
Deserts Xuan / Lead Vocalist of Tiger Chocolate, Actress
Chiang Cheng-feng / Attorney, James International Law Firm
Synopsis
Depicting an undercover police detective's case-handling process and his untold past. A work focusing on procedural justice within the judicial system, attempting to explore how past failures to grasp procedural justice led to police abuse of power and even coerced confessions...
The Nine-Life Cat—50 mins
Moderator
Lin Chiung-yu / JRF Volunteer (Teacher, Fusing Junior High School)
Guest Speaker
Hsieh Shu-mei / Deputy Executive Director, Association for Humanistic Education
Chen I-wen / Executive Secretary, Taichung Office, Association for Humanistic Education
Synopsis
Centered on the theme of "corporal punishment," this film observes and engages with various core issues in national education, striking straight at the heart of the problem. Abolishing corporal punishment is certainly not enough to resolve Taiwan's current educational issues, but it will be a beautiful starting point.
Starting Point—55 mins
Moderator
Chen Yung-chen / JRF Volunteer
Guest Speaker
Lee Chia-hua / Director
Wu Chia-chen / Deputy Executive Director, Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty
Synopsis
A story of a grieving mother rediscovering her life's driving force and value, and how the end of a departed life can, through a shift in mindset, become the starting point for another chapter. Through the pluralistic profiles of victims of a wrongful incident, we witness how Mother Yu, having lost her son, walked through her arduous rebirth process.
The Journey: Viêt Nam—90 mins
Moderator
Chen I-chen / Executive Secretary, Taichung Office, Judicial Reform Foundation
Guest Speaker
Lee Mau-sheng / Professor, Department of Law, National Taiwan University
Lin Shu-ya / Assistant Professor, Department of Law, Providence University
Synopsis
Ho Yu-ling goes to Chiang Mai, Thailand to clear her mind, where she encounters underage sex workers in a bar and resolves by all means to rescue one from the sea of suffering. This recalls her own experience of running away from home after being sexually assaulted by her stepfather, leading to an encounter with an older man and the beginning of an immoral transaction lasting eight years...
Freeheld Documentary—40 mins
Moderator
Wang Wei-ching / JRF Volunteer (Graduate Student, Graduate Institute of Law, Feng Chia University)
Guest Speaker
Cindy Chia-Chieh Chien / Secretary-General, Taiwan Alliance for Advancement of Youth Rights and Welfare
Synopsis
The story tells of a police officer diagnosed with terminal cancer who bravely fights the government beyond the eleventh hour alongside his partner—whom he cannot legally marry—to secure his pension for her, gaining widespread support!
Free Indeed—105 mins
Moderator
Yu Wan-chen / JRF Volunteer (Department of Law, Providence University)
Guest Speaker
Yen Hsin-yin / Defense Attorney for Hsu Tzu-chiang's Case
Hsu Tzu-chiang / Defendant
Synopsis
Hsu Tzu-chiang was accused of participating in a 1995 kidnapping, extortion, and murder case. Yet, over the past 20 years, the court has not only sentenced him to death in the complete absence of any objective evidence, but also kept him imprisoned for 16 years...
This article is an AI-generated translation of the original Chinese text. In the event of any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.