Before the Bright Day - NAN FANG SHI GUANG 

Pitch

In 1996, as Taiwan prepares to hold its first direct presidential election, China launches large-scale military exercises intended to influence the outcome. Zhou, a sensitive 15-year-old teenager, harbors a silent rebellion. He is secretly in love with a young girl. Due to the Taiwan Strait crisis, the shadows hanging over everyday life cause the stock market to crash, make his father's real estate development prospects uncertain, and create an equally oppressive atmosphere at home. Zhou secretly takes a job in a billiard hall without telling his family; there, he befriends delinquents and begins smoking, skipping classes, and withdrawing into silence, which only deepens the rift between him and his father. This year, marked by the threat of war, electoral upheaval, and time passing unnoticed, gently shapes their days and their future. “Through this film, I aim to revive the memories of the generation born in the 1980s, who experienced authoritarianism while firmly believing in the beauty of freedom.” Tsao Shih-han