Taiwan! Let’s Get Married (Screening/Discussion)

Prof. Larry Tung will screen and discuss his 2018 documentary, Taiwan! Let’s Get Married, his 2019 follow-up documentary, A Big Fat Taiwanese Same-Sex Wedding Banquet, and the 2019 documentary, Double Dad & One Queer Teen: My Rainbow Family.

Taiwan! Let’s Get Married! (2018, RT 17:44)
On May 24, 2017, Taiwan’s Constitutional Court ruled in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage, setting a 2-year deadline for the legislature to make new or amend existing laws to make it a reality. This landmark ruling is setting the stage for the island to become the first country in Asia to do so. But the quest for marriage equality has not been easy. Anti-gay groups have been using sex and gender education as a platform to sway public opinions. Pressured by anti-gay groups, lawmakers have yet introduced any bill to legalize same-sex marriage. Taiwan’s fight for marriage equality continues.

A Big Fat Taiwanese Same-Sex Wedding Banquet (2019, RT 4:18)
In celebration of becoming the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage on May 24, 2019, one of Taiwan’s most prominent LGBT groups threw a big open-air traditional Taiwanese wedding banquet in front of its Presidential Office Building.

Double Dad & One Queer Teen: My Rainbow Family (2019, RT 25:00)
Double Dads and One Queer Teen is a short documentary about a multicultural and gender nonconforming family. Met through a newspaper personal ad in 1995, the two dads, one from Taiwan and the other one from suburban Chicago, formed a life partnership and had a baby through surrogacy with the help from a sister in 2003. The child, now a teenager, considers themself pansexual. The film brings together different perspectives from all parties involved. It is a heart-warming and brave story that is inspirational for all families.

Copies of Double Dads One Teen: A Queer Family’s Trailblazing Life in the USA and Taiwan (DIO Press, 2019) will be available for purchase after the talk, with author Stuart Chen-Hayes present.

Author Bio

Presented By:

Larry Tung is an assistant professor in the Department of Performing and Fine Arts at York College/CUNY. A native of Taiwan, Prof. Tung worked as a journalist for Taiwan News before moving to the United States. His documentary films focus on social justice and human rights issues and have screened in more than 50 film festivals around the world.