The Missing (Bu Jian) Taiwan

Taiwanese actor Lee Kang-sheng is best known for his numerous lead roles in the films of Tsai Ming-liang, including What Time is it There' (MIFF 2002) and Goodbye, Dragon Inn, a highlight of this year's Festival. Lee takes an assured step behind the camera for the first time, delivering an austere work that won three prizes at this year's Rotterdam Film Festival, including a coveted Tiger award.

Originally conceived as one half of a two-episode film, The Missing became a full-length work when Goodbye, Dragon Inn'the other half of the planned feature'also turned into a longer work. Certainly a complementary piece to Tsai's work in style and atmosphere, The Missing confirms Lee as a fresh and original voice in his own right.

Against a Taipei backdrop, a grandmother loses her beloved grandson at a play centre and a teenage boy looks for his missing grandfather. Seemingly disconnected from the real world, these two 'searchers' wander the streets. With its languid pace and carefully constructed camera movements, The Missing is a hypnotic and spare film that explores the heartbreaking nature of loss and our place in a society fraying at its edges.

'a poignant and beautifully controlled film.' -IndieWIRE

D/S Lee Kang-sheng P Liang Hung-chih WS Homegreen Films L Mandarin w/English subtitles TD 35mm/Col/2003/88mins

Lee Kang-sheng was born in Taipei, Taiwan in 1968. Films: The Missing (MIFF 2004).