Happily Ever After in Kaohsiung for German Violinist Daniel Tomas Karl／黃俊翰 如魚得水的高雄生活
Happily Ever After in Kaohsiung for German Violinist Daniel Tomas Karl
◎English translation: Peng Hsin-yi
◎Photo courtesy of Daniel Tomas Karl
Daniel Tomas Karl is a German guy who married a Taiwanese girl. In 2003, they moved to his wife's native town because she missed home very much. Daniel has been living a fairytale life since then. Adjusting to life in Kaohsiung was surprisingly easy for him. A violist by profession, he passed the entrance test to Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra (KSO) and became a full-fledged member the year he arrived. He is currently the first violinist in the orchestra. He is also a music instructor at Kaohsiung Municipal Shin-Yi Primary School, Feng-si Junior High School, as well as in the special music program at Kaohsiung Municipal Hsin Hsing Senior High School.
Daniel has a Spanish dad and a German mom. He lived in many countries before moving to Taiwan, and is very accustomed to multiculturalism in everyday life. In his experience, "respect" is really the key to harmony. He fitted in right away because he was able to "do as the Kaohsiungnese do." Daniel believes language is the bridge that close culture gaps and brings people together. He has made an effort to study Chinese, and those efforts have paid off. Today, he is able to drop some very advanced Chinese four-character-idioms in conversation, which often surprises people meeting him for the first time. He is constantly working to improve his Chinese through self-study, and he improves his language proficiency by using it every day.
Daniel characterizes Kaohsiung's people as "enthusiastic, energetic, friendly and kind." He said that if you ask for directions in Kaohsiung, there is a good chance the person you ask will accompany you to your destination. This does not happen in many places in the world, he says. When asked to provide a few words of wisdom for newcomers in Kaohsiung, Daniel says new arrivals should definitely learn the language. It is so much easier to make friends when you know how to talk to people in their native tongue, he explains. Having lived in Kaohsiung for a decade, Daniel says Kaohsiung is becoming more beautiful, and there are more arts and cultural events than before. In his spare time, he loves to take his family cycling along Love River or to Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts. His favorite scenic spots in Kaohsiung are Lotus Pond and Fo Guang Shan Monastery. He also recommends seafood in Cijin and the Love Boat rides on Love River as two of the greatest experiences visitors to Kaohsiung can enjoy.
After ten years playing with KSO, Daniel says the major difference between Taiwanese orchestras and those in Europe is that KSO's members are considerably younger and more energetic. They are passionate about music, and often stay late to practice. He is very happy to see more internationally renounced soloists coming to Kaohsiung because their visits help the orchestra improve and evolve to the next level. He said the orchestra is just like a big family, there are no "cliques", and people get along well with one another. He is very happy to work and live in Kaohsiung.
黃俊翰 如魚得水的高雄生活
◎文／侯雅婷
◎照片提供／黃俊翰
德籍小提琴家黃俊翰（Daniel Tomas Karl）2003年時，隨著想念家鄉的太太返台定居，同年他順利通過考試，成為高雄市交響樂團一員，在高雄落地生根，現擔任樂團第一小提琴，現也任教高雄市信義國小、鳳西國中以及新興國中音樂班。
黃俊翰談起，父親是西班牙人、母親是德國人，居住許多國家的經驗，讓他深刻體認不同文化必須要互相尊重，他用中文成語「入境隨俗」點出他在高雄適應良好的秘訣，黃俊翰中文程度之好 ，讓初見面的人都感到有些詫異，他強調語言與文化息息相關，人們總會對能和自己說同一種語言的人，產生親近的感覺，也因此他到現在都還持續地自學中文，持續使用中文與人溝通，因此他對於中文的駕禦能力越來越嫻熟。
黃俊翰眼中的高雄人熱情、有活力、親切而善良，他說在高雄問路，高雄人會直接帶著你到目的地，但這樣的事情在別的地方不一定會發生。黃俊翰以過來人的經驗鼓勵外籍朋友學習中文，自然會結交更多的台灣朋友。黃俊翰稱讚高雄變漂亮了，藝文展覽也越來越豐富 ，空閒時他喜歡家人一起去愛河和美術館騎乘自行車，他最推薦的景點是蓮池潭、佛光山，他特別提起到旗津吃海鮮和在愛河搭乘愛之船都是很棒的高雄體驗。
加入樂團10年，黃俊翰說相較於歐洲樂團，高雄市交響樂團的成員較年輕，呈現充滿活力的感覺，團員們也都傾注熱情，常留下繼續練習，他肯定樂團經常與有名的獨奏家合作，使其演奏水準越來越高，他很開心地指出，樂團現在氣氛相當好，大夥和樂融融，沒有派別 ，在樂團演奏他感到非常愉快。
Kaohsiung Film Festival Curator Huang Hao-jie
◎English translation: Peng Hsin-yi
◎Photo courtesy of Huang Hao-jie
Huang Hao-jie is a well-respected figure among Kaohsiung Film Festival fans. In 2007, he became the festival's curator and has had a crucial hand in developing the unique venue ever since. His main responsibility is to bring movies from around the world to Kaohsiung. He feels movies can be a cultural window, allowing people gain insight into other cultures.
Mr. Huang's passion for art movies began when he was a student. Back in those days however, there wasn't much of an audience for that type of genre in Kaohsiung. In southern Taiwan, at that time, theaters only played blockbuster and very few film festivals were available. Finally in 2001, Kaohsiung held its first film festival and local movie fans had access to a new and alternative world of movies.
The Kaohsiung Film Festival screens many fantasy-themed movies. There are also many films that focus on social issues or real people's lives from different points of view. Each year, the festival selects a wide variety of movies that have not previously been shown in Taiwan. It has also become a greatly anticipated event, with a growing attendance every year.
This year the Kaohsiung Film Festival will be held from October 18th to November 3rd and will feature the annual theme of "Variation Nations", which will include movies that have strong musical themes such as jazz, opera, classical music, musicals and music-related documentaries. It aims to attract movie lovers and music lovers alike. One of the other themes include "Power to the People", which focuses on Kaohsiung's history. Kaohsiung began as an industrial city and relied heavily on a large number of laborers. Many of the movies include themes such as human rights and homage to laborers.
This year, Mr. Huang's favorite selection is "100 years of Indian Cinema and features ten Indian movies. They are very musical and some of India's greatest work. There's also the "Masterpiece Collection" which shows five or six movies of each famous director. Mr. Huang encourages everyone who has never been to the Kaohsiung Film Festival to come and check it out. It is a great way to get to know the work of some of the greatest directors of all times.
高雄電影節策展人 黃晧傑
◎文／侯雅婷
◎照片提供／黃晧傑
喜愛高雄電影節的朋友對黃晧傑這個名字一定不陌生，高雄電影節今年邁入第12屆，而黃晧傑自2007年起擔任策展人一職，他肯定地表示，電影就如同是國家文化的窗口，透過電影帶進世界文化，也帶來文化交流。
黃晧傑這股推展高雄電影節的熱情，源於他學生時代在南部求學，想看藝術電影卻找不到任何一家戲院，當時高雄缺乏觀賞藝術電影的氛圍，連小型影展的文化活動都寥寥無幾，喜愛藝術電影的影迷不免感到孤單。直到2001年，高雄舉辦第一屆電影節，讓喜歡觀賞迥然不同、另類藝術電影的影迷們享受到幸福的觀影時光。
高雄電影節以奇幻風格建立口碑，影片緊扣社會議題，貼近人民生活，高雄電影節之所以令影迷期待，除了豐富多元的片單，電影節只播出未曾在台上映的影片，精彩可期。
2013年高雄電影節從音樂出發，主軸為「變奏國度」，包含爵士、歌劇、古典樂、歌舞片以及另類音樂紀錄片等各類型的影片，呈現熱鬧而大氣的取向，喜歡音樂的影迷一定會有很大的滿足感。此外，針對高雄的歷史發展過程，早期工業社會仰賴龐大的勞工人口，因此今年其中一個主題為「人民力量」，傳遞向勞工朋友們致敬的訊息。黃晧傑透露此次他最喜歡的專題為「100年印度傳奇」，藉由電影節呈現一口氣播出10部音樂性強的電影，其中不乏印度知名導演的作品。黃晧傑也鼓勵新朋友進場看電影，今年電影節「電影大師集結」播放每位導演5～6部作品，是認識大師級導演不可多得的好機會。
2013年高雄電影節將於10月18日至11月3日展開，邀請新朋友和老朋友走進電影院，從每部作品之中找到感動。