2023
About the Program
The slogan “Meet the icons of modern art” needs to be scraped off the glass wall of the Stedelijk, Amsterdam’s modern art museum. Because precisely who the icons of modern art are is very much the question. Who gets to decide? And who loses out?
In 2019, as director Sarah Vos started shooting her documentary, more than 90 percent of art at the Stedelijk was made by white men. That’s got to change, the museum’s director Rein Wolfs believes. But this is easier said than done—so much becomes clear when Vos follows Wolfs and his team as they strive for greater diversity in the collection, as well as among their staff.
This film is more than a look behind the scenes at a museum: as well as presenting a new perspective on art history, it magnificently encapsulates the struggles that are engaging many historical and cultural institutions.
Director Sarah Vos has been awarded several times for her documentaries. She made, among others, Welcome to Holland – Campus Vught (awarded the Zilveren Zebra en Gouden Kalf nominatie, 2nd Public Award Idfa) about the attempt by the Dutch State to accommodate underage exhausted asylum seekers in a campus model in order to send them back to their country of origin. Big Brother in the Middle East (awarded the Nipkow Schijf) and Curaçao (co-directed with Sander Snoep) in which the white Dutch community on the island is examined closely, (awarded the Prijs van de Nederlandse Filmkritiek and selected Best of Idfa on Tour.)
Sarah makes the viewer a part of the lives of her main characters, by capturing apparently insignificant details. The sometimes confrontational situations that arise as a result make the viewer think about their own life, empathy and ethics.
Two new feature-length documentaries by director Sarah Vos premiered in 2022: Koning op de Dam, co-directed by Sander Snoep, about the influence of his dark Chinese family history on catering tycoon and millionaire Won Yip (Golden Calf selection). In November Sarah’s White Balls On Walls premiered at IDFA 2022. The film was nominated for the IDFA Award for Best Dutch Documentary.
From the Curating Team
History often neglects lesser-known events, characters, and artifacts, causing valuable cultural heritage to be lost in the torrent of time. To protect Taiwan’s subjectivity and include immigrants' experiences, we must document forgotten stories, fostering respect for diverse identities. These films honour forgotten stories and help build a holistic, inclusive perspective that values marginalized narratives.
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TAIWANfest Vancouver is grateful to be held on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam Indian Band), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish Nation), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation). We acknowledge our privilege to be gathered here, and commit to work with and be respectful to the Indigenous peoples of this land while we engage in meaningful conversations of culture and reconciliation.