Taiwanese lesbian miniseries Fragrance of the First Flower, one of the two titles selected in the first ever TIFF Series section
GagaOOLala's Fragrance of the First Flower is one of the two series selected for the inaugural TIFF Series section at Tokyo International Film Festival 2021. The other selected title was Folklore 2 produced by HBO Asia.
The title received the Gold Award at last year’s inaugural GagaOOLala Pitching Sessions (GPS) 2020, an international pitching competition initiated by the Asian LGBTQ+ streaming platform in collaboration with the Taiwan Content Creative Agency (TAICCA) to fund new and original queer projects.
Fragrance of the First Flower, GagaOOLala Originals
The debut title by openly lesbian director Angel Teng (鄧依涵), known for her role as scriptwriter for the Taiwanese feature Bao Bao (2018), Fragrance of the First Flower became earlier this year Taiwan’s first-ever entry in Series Mania (Lille), Europe’s largest series festival. It has been announced that it will also be part of this year’s Seriencamp (Munich) later this month.
The six-episode original lesbian miniseries featuring actresses ZaiZai Lin (An Innocent Mistake, Penguins at the North Pole) and Lyan Chen (Fabulous Boys, Aim High) centers on the lives of two, long-lost high school lovers who suddenly cross each other’s paths as they go through different phases in their lives. The unexpected encounter thereby reignites the spark and passion they once shared for one another, ultimately leading them to give the love they would have never imagined possible, a second chance.
Fragrance of the First Flower is the latest installment in GagaOOLala’s 2021 anthology ‘Queer Up The Volume’, a collection of original queer stories, each with its own title song, and music video, aiming to portray the different facets of the contemporary queer community and its wide-ranging issues. The Queer Up The Volume project is officially supported by Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture for which it received a subsidy from the Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development.
Fragrance of the First Flower will screen on November 8th at 7:00PM with a live Q&A with director Angel Teng right after the screening.
Fore more information: Fragrance of the First Flower】 | 34th Tokyo International Film Festival (tiff-jp.net)
Director’s Statement
“After the legalization of same-sex marriage in Taiwan, the system embraces the equality of love and genders. However, the sexual stereotypes and traditional family values still exist in the society, which makes the gay family not accepted by the major public. Fragrance of the First Flower reveals the love and lust between two women, the conflicts between gay family and traditional stereotypes. It finds back the forgotten love with a romantic touch.”
Frédéric Lavigne, artistic director at Series Mania
“In her first narrative series, Angel Teng finds the right balance between frankness and caution to dramatize the possibility of love. As story and characterization, it is subtle and sensible, thanks to the delicate interpretations of ZaiZai Lin and Lyan Chen, seamlessly portraying these two women at different crossroads throughout the years.”
Fragrance of the First Flower, GagaOOLala Originals
Fragrance of the First Flower: Synopsis
Yi-Ming (ZaiZai Lin), whose husband works outside of town, lives alone with her son. After years apart, she reconnects with Ting-Ting (Lyan Chen) at a wedding, a girl she was intimate with back in high school. The encounter with Ting-Ting not only sets Yi-Ming free from her oppressive marriage but also reawakens her feelings for Ting-Ting. Now that Taiwan has finally legalized same-sex marriage, will Yi-Ming have the courage to change her life?
Fragrance of the First Flower: https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/2412/fragrance-of-the-first-flower-2021-s01e01