The Chinese Independent Film Foundation (CIFF) is a
not-for-profit screen culture organisation dedicated
to showcasing new and old art-house Chinese-language
cinema across Australia. Founded in Narrm/Melbourne,
CIFF works with collaborators across mainland China,
Hong Kong and Taiwan to present films that
rarely receive theatrical release locally.


THE RIVER 河流 (1997)  Directed by Tsai Ming-liang 蔡明亮 (Taiwan) 
Program:  Focus on Queer 中文 CinemaA haunting tale of alienation and desire from master auteur Tsai Ming-liang 蔡明亮 — where bodies ache and silence speaks volumes. Hsiao-Kang develops mysterious neck pain after acting in a film shoot set in a polluted river. As his family deteriorates into emotional paralysis, he seeks relief in unexpected places, including Taipei’s hidden gay saunas. Tsai crafts a portrait of urban disconnection, where every gesture feels weighted with longing.
October, 2025

Past event.
Address: Elsewhere Books
Level 3, 139 Franklin Street, Melbourne

CIFF acknowledges the Traditional Owners of
the unceded land on which we work and create,
the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Bunurong
peoples, and the wider Kulin Nations.