Taiwan Documentary Film Festival in Thailand 2025 took place from November 12 to 16, 2025, at House Samyan and Century the Movie Plaza (Sukhumvit), and from November 13 to 16 at untitled for film (Chiang Mai), and from November 15 to 16, at a.e.y. Space (Songkhla) and Berng Nang Club (Khon Kaen)

The festival screened 12 curated feature-length films, divided into 6 documentaries, 4 Taiwanese classics, and 2 Taiwanese contemporary feature films. As a result, 32 screenings in total.

Taiwan Documentary Film Festival in Thailand 2025 was succeeded by collaboration from various organizations.

1. Ministry of Culture of Taiwan
2. Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Thailand (TECO)
3. Taiwan Docs
4. Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute
5. House Samyan
6. Century the Movie Plaza (Sukhumvit)
7. a.e.y. Space
8. untitled for film
9. Berng Nang Club
10. Movies Matter Co., Ltd. (Documentary Club)

All the films that are being shown at the festival are outstanding and interesting. Both in production, storytelling and the story itself. They have the potential to attract Thai audiences to have a comprehensive understanding of Taiwan’s way of life and culture in many dimensions.

TDFF Statement: A Geography of Coexistence

In a complex and conflicted world, cinema offers a rare window into the lives of others. It invites us to step outside our own experiences and acknowledge our fellow human beings – people who remain unseen and misunderstood unless we venture out to meet them.

Taiwanese cinema exemplifies this, capturing the lives of a diverse populace through both documentaries and feature films. It portrays a nation woven from a multitude of peoples and narratives, where differences harmonize and create a resonant whole.

The program explores these stories, from the intimate portrait of a poor farming family in A Holy Family to the struggles of ordinary people in Yen and Ai-Lee. It delves into the fight of Taiwan’s last leper community against urban development in Island of the Wind, celebrates the life of a famous indigenous dancer in Dancing Home, and uncovers the stories of stateless people in the mountains in Because Watching Pacifies. The lineup also features the experimental works of Your Bros. Filmmaking Group, such as Gubuk, Hut, and Taman-Taman, which focus on the lives of Indonesian and Vietnamese migrant workers.

The classic section revisits Taiwan’s nation-building through four cinematic eras. It begins with the Healthy Realism period of the martial law era, when the state used cinema to establish social standards, as seen in Beautiful Duckling (1960s) and Story of a Small Town (1970s). Following the lifting of martial law, the program moves to the economic boom of Modern Taiwan, marked by the iconic Taiwan New Wave and films like Taipei Story (1980s). The journey concludes in the era of solitary capitalism with The River (1990s).