Map of the Stars

The biggest film festival in Taiwan, the Golden Horse Film Fetsival, is right around the corner (11/6 ~ 11/27) and if you have not managed to get the tickets, you may not need to bother. I tried to get hold of just ONE ticket for the restored “Paris, Texas” and the new film, “Maps to the Stars” early Oct. 28 morning, but no, they’re totally sold out. This is because movie buffs had already scooped up almost all the seats when they bought the “套票,” a set of 8 tickets, on 10/25. People like me who only like to see one or two films were not able to buy tickets until 1 p.m. on 10/27. By then most tickets were gone.

But there’s still hope. Sometimes people may refund the tickets or post a little ad on the Golden Horse blog. You can always go back to the iBon machine at 7-ELEVEN  to check if there are newly released seats, or check the blog for exchanges or purchases.

Meanwhile Golden Horse Film Festival organizers have announced that they’re adding three more films to the screenings: 1) Pride, an L.G.B.T. film directed by Matthew Warchus, 2) The New Girlfriend, directed by French director Francois Ozon, and 3) Nightcrawler, with Jake Gyllenhaal playing a journalist chasing bloody, greusome news stories. Tickets for these three will go on sale at 1 p.m., Oct. 31 (that’s this Friday!) on iBon ticketing machine at 7-11s across the country.

Luckily the Golden Horse prances around once a year, so if you have already given up on what this year has to offer, there’s always next year.