By KHT Staff. AI-regenerated image.
KAOHSIUNG — Japanese entertainer Maria Abe (阿部瑪利亞) made her first public appearance since announcing her pregnancy at the Kaohsiung Film Festival (高雄電影節) on Oct. 9, joining the premiere of the short film 1945 (一九四五). She appeared alongside director Kent Chang (張永昌) and fellow actors Sam Yang (楊大正) and Andrew Chau (周厚安).
Abe said pregnancy-related discomfort had reduced her appetite, although her tastes had changed little. Taiwan’s fruit helped her get through it, she joked, according to a China Times report. She also said she was still adjusting to people looking at her stomach rather than her face when speaking to her.
Her pregnancy was planned, and she said she felt fortunate, knowing that many people struggle to conceive. Having played a mother in 1945, she said she had not expected to be pregnant herself by the premiere and wondered how the experience would compare with her performance.
The festival’s official synopsis describes the 20-minute film as a wartime story set in Japanese-ruled Kaohsiung. It follows a Taiwanese insurance agent trying to return policy premiums, an escaped American prisoner of war, and a widowed, pregnant Japanese woman caught in a devastating air raid.
Part of the festival’s “Future Images” (未來影像) program, 1945 has further screenings at Neiwei Arts Center (內惟藝術中心) on Oct. 12 at 2:30 p.m. and Oct. 17 at 6:30 p.m. The Kaohsiung Film Festival runs through Oct. 26.
