- Ronaldo scores 133rd Portugal goal in Nations League win over Poland
- 40 nations contributing to UN Lebanon peacekeeping force condemn 'attacks'
- Eight dead as heavy rain thrashes Brazil after long drought
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- Morocco crush Central African Republic, Guirassy scores hat-trick
- Dupont scores quickfire hat-trick on Toulouse Top 14 return
- Ronaldo scores in Portugal's Nations League win as Spain sink Denmark
- Interim boss Carsley has not applied for England job
- Mets hurler Senga ready to take on Dodgers in game one of NL Championship Series
- Ronaldo on target again as Portugal defeat Poland in Nations League
- Guardians rip Tigers 7-3 to advance in MLB playoffs
- AFP, BBC win top French war reporting awards
- Carsley goes back to basics as humbled England face Finland
- Alex Salmond: the man who took Scotland to the brink of independence
- Scotland's former leader Alex Salmond dies aged 69: party
- UN warns of catastrophe as Israel fights a two-front war
- Croatia extend Scotland's losing streak
- South Africa, New Zealand boost T20 World Cup semi-final hopes
- 'Very challenging': Israel faces Hezbollah in tricky terrain
- Farrell begins to feel at home as Racing 92 beat Toulon
- South Africa boost T20 World Cup semi-final hopes with Bangladesh win
- Samson ton powers India to T20 series sweep after record total
- Djokovic to face Sinner in Shanghai final with 100th title in sight
- UN peacekeepers to remain in Lebanon: spokesman
- Pro-Conquest film fuels debate in Mexico over colonial legacy
- Samson ton powers India to record 297-6 in Bangladesh T20
- New Zealand enjoy perfect start to America's Cup defence over Britain
- Pogacar emulates icon Coppi with fourth straight Il Lombardia triumph
- UN warns against 'catastrophic' regional conflict
- New Zealand crush Ineos Britannia in America's Cup opener
- Djokovic to face Sinner in blockbuster Shanghai Masters final
- With medical report Harris seeks to play health card against Trump
- Sri Lanka seeks to match success in W.Indies T20s
- Sinner reaches Shanghai final, will end year number one
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- Sabalenka downs Gauff in three sets to reach Wuhan final
- Israel warns south Lebanon residents to 'not return'
- Sinner tames Machac to reach Shanghai Masters final
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- Hezbollah fires at Israel as wars rage on Yom Kippur
- Analysts warn more detail needed on new China economic measures
- China tees up fresh spending to boost ailing economy
- China says will issue special bonds to boost ailing economy
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Dodgers drop Padres 2-0 to advance in MLB playoffs
- Alexei Navalny wrote he knew he would die in prison in new memoir
- Last-minute legal ruling allows betting on US election
- Despite hurricanes, Floridians refuse to leave 'paradise'
Muted on world stage, Taiwan speaks up at Cannes
A slew of Taiwanese movies at the Cannes Film Festival offer the island an increasingly rare chance to tell its stories on the global stage.
These days few countries even have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, a self-ruled island that is claimed by Beijing.
Introducing his neo-noir thriller "Locust" at the world-famous festival, artist and director KEFF said he was "not interested in debating whether or not Taiwan should be a country."
"But we've gotten to a point where to even reflect the reality of Taiwan is to be provocative. And I don't agree with that," he told AFP.
"Locust" centres on Zhong-Han, a restaurant worker who runs with a violent gang by night, and is mute -- a striking metaphor for his home island.
"Zhong-Han represents a generation that is unable to speak for itself, but also a place, Taiwan, that is unable to speak for itself," the director said.
Actor Liu Wei-chen was forbidden to speak for weeks before shooting began, to prepare for the role.
Meanwhile "Mongrel," which premiered Monday, explores the lives of undocumented workers, including a caregiver living in the mountains of Taiwan.
Its producer, Lynn Chen, told The Hollywood Reporter that Cannes provides an opportunity to share a "unique and compelling cinematic experience."
- 'Not just a headline' -
KEFF, who has lived much of his life in the United States, set out to create his portrait of Taiwanese youth soon after moving back to the island in 2019.
He observed a surprising lack of interest from younger generations in Beijing's crackdown on nearby Hong Kong -- an encroachment that many fear could preface a full-scale invasion of Taiwan.
Beijing has said it would never renounce the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.
The film also explores the lack of interest in international affairs among young Taiwanese.
KEFF said he wanted to tell human stories from an island too often viewed by the rest of the world merely as a potential flashpoint for World War Three, or source of top-end semi-conductors for smartphones.
"We're not just a headline in the news," said KEFF.
- 'Brave' -
The island's government has tried in recent years to make up for its lack of diplomatic clout by building up soft power through film.
Taiwanese funding -- including government-backed initiatives -- is behind two other films: "The Shameless," set in India; and "Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot," based in Cambodia.
And "Traversing the Mist" offers audiences an immersive and explicit look inside a Taiwanese gay sauna.
"We're not provocateurs. But we have a history of being brave. And so I feel that history should continue," said KEFF.
"Taiwanese people must continue to advocate for themselves. I'm not saying as a political entity, but as human beings."
M.Fischer--AMWN