Invisible Nation

Taiwan’s live-free-or-die spirit is embodied by progressive President Tsai Ing-wen and youth activists who’ve shaped the country’s flourishing democracy. Under increasing threat of military invasion by totalitarian China, Taiwan seeks peaceful coexistence and the same support for its free sovereign state that Ukraine has gathered from the West. Xi Jinping’s regime insists on absorbing Taiwan in its One China policy, while the island nation asserts its independence and a pluralistic culture aligned with freedom movements around the world. Vanessa Hope’s arresting documentary reveals how one East Asian democratic linchpin fights for global voice and visibility while its bigger neighbor pressures its allies, the US included, to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan and exclude it from global organizations. With urgency and verve, the film offers a deep dive into Taiwan’s — and democracy’s — urgent fight for survival. (Mill Valley Film Festival)