Women Make Waves International Film Festival 2026

This program centers on the existential question of what it means to be “human” in society. By revisiting and reflecting upon lived experience, the intertwined relationship between individuals and society comes into focus. In these films, incidents come one after another and interweave everything like a roundelay. Relationships of all kinds are shown, revealing the marks left on each other. Facing irreversible life encounters or traumatic memories, the characters choose to forge unconventional paths to trace the origins, follow the threads, and actively question what has happened, further transforming the past into an imagined blueprint for the future.

This program depicts entanglements among humans and between humans and other species. Deploying diverse audiovisual strategies, this program delineates collective existences, unfolding through zoos in Argentina, educational settings in France, the lives of architecture students in India, and a street protest in South Korea. The films touch upon empathy, resonance, interdependency among lives, boundaries between the self and the other, and collective power arising from the strength of collaborations. Ultimately, they uncover the diversity and multiple voices among beings across generations and species.

In film history, unexpected wandering often evokes images of rebellion and freedom. Yet the image of a wandering woman, eluding a simple definition, further complicates the gender politics and spectator's gaze behind this free-spirited image. This program presents three debut features from the 1980s and 1990s, unfolding around wandering women. Their bodily traversal of spaces not only disrupts the established order, but also serves as an inward and outward interrogation. Alongside the classics, three recent films explore how the meaning of an unruly spirit endures and transforms in contemporary society. This juxtaposition across different eras reveals how women’s wandering takes on ever-shifting forms.

This year’s queer program, “Radical Bodies,” brings together films that embody radical spirit in both form and content. Just as Barbara Hammer turned her camera to the audience, a recent film reweaves her archival footage after her passing. Through a reverse gaze and a connection across time, these films bear the profound imprint of the trailblazer. Two films featuring trans protagonists explore issues surrounding gender transition and reproductive rights, and fully realize the experimental potentiality of “trans films.” This program also features two subprograms, namely “Special Focus: Meriem Bennani,” as well as “Normal Screen: My Comrades,” a guest-curated short film program.

The program includes an exciting selection of short films from Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Japan, Mexico, Canada, and the United States. From sensory explorations grounded in formal experimentation, filmmaking diaries peppered with curious anecdotes, coming-of-age stories capturing young women’s inner worlds, to incisive observations on gender, these works present the rich and vibrant cinematic worlds of contemporary auteurs and emerging voices.

Now in its 13th year, the Taiwan Competition has selected 19 outstanding works from 143 submissions by the Preliminary Jury Committee—comprising Yi-Jung Chen, Howard Hao-Chun Yang, and Eno Pei Jean Chen. Rich in subject matter, the selected titles reveal both craftsmanship honed over years of practice and the remarkable potential of a new generation of filmmakers. In particular, their choice of subject matter reflects the fluid boundaries of moving images, revisiting how the intersections of ethnicity and culture continue to shape the contemporary landscape of Taiwanese cinema. The awards will be selected by the Final Jury and announced during the festival.