‘Invisible Nation’ is the charged documentary spotlighting Taiwan’s first female President

Just when you thought you’d had your fill of political documentaries, along comes one that actually demands your attention. Director Vanessa Gold’s Invisible Nation delivers something genuinely remarkable — intimate access to Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen as she navigates perhaps the most precarious political tightrope in modern history.

At a time when the world seems to be speed-running through various catastrophes, Hope’s lens captures something more nuanced – a nation caught between existence and erasure. It’s a story of stark contradictions: Taiwan might produce 90% of the world’s advanced semiconductors (translation: the tiny chips powering everything from your iPhone to your smart fridge), yet its fight for survival barely registers on most people’s radar.

Oldboy and Decision to Leave director Park Chan-wook – arguably the most influential Asian filmmaker of his generation – puts it best: this isn’t about economics, it’s about a nation’s right to exist. And unlike other global conflicts currently flooding your feed, this is one crisis we might still have time to prevent. The film, sweeping up awards across the festival circuit, isn’t just showing us what we’re about to lose — it’s showing us what we might still save.

For those wondering if they need another documentary about international relations in their lives — yes, you do. Because rarely does a film manage to make geopolitics feel this personal, this urgent, and this impossible to ignore.

Invisible Nation will be available to view in the UK and US from the 6th to the 9th of December exclusively on GATHR.