2016 TIAF

Last year saw the birth of Taichung International Animation Festival which provided a showcase platform specifically for animation artists in Taiwan. This year, the scale of the festival is expanded. It continues to hold competition for local animators and also covers a wider range and greater depth in inviting films from the globe. It aims at encouraging and stimulating local talents in animation-making, bringing about a certain dynamic, as well as diversifying local audience’s interest in cinema. It also intends to become a friendly spot of exchange for animators from Taiwan and abroad, establishing an international stage.

This year, the festival features six programs: “Taiwan Animation: Formosa Treasures”, “Director in Focus: Masters of Silence”, “Stop Motion: Timeless Magic Show”, “Best of the Best: Looking Through a Kaleidoscope”, “Chinese Talents: The Classical Art of Chinese Animation” and “Feature Film: World Animation”

“Taiwan Animation: Formosa Treasures” features two themes: “Taiwan Competition” and “Taiwan Selected Works”. The former presents 48 excellent works selected from 362 entries, including outstanding shorts from local animation industry as well as young students. As for the latter, it not only features commercial works invited from the animation industry, but also includes great animation features by professional animators. The program is definitely a highlight of the festival this year.

Among the international animation shorts in the festival, there are international award-winning films produced by Aardman Animations in U.K and National film Board of Canada. In “Best of the Best: Looking through a Kaleidoscope”, in less the 90 minutes, the audience is led into an unknown and mysterious animation realm to watch contemporary top animation works from the globe all at once under the impact of imagination and visual effects! “Director in Focus: Masters of Silence” features two masters skilled in telling stories through images rather than resorting to voice-over or dialogue. Their films are must-sees for any animation practitioner.

“Feature Film: World Animation” is yet another highlight, including works based on Chinese literature classics or true stories about Katsushika Hokusai, master of Ukiyo-E. It also features one film representing war through the form of animated documentary, as well as animation features from our neighboring country, the Philippines. Besides, in the hope of breaking the conventional restriction that animation should be watched together by families, we also invite two R rated films featuring vivid and life-like desire and thrilling bloody scenes; the program is absolutely a feast for the eyes.

In order to reflect animation industry’s status quo and to promote ideas about animation art, we will not only screen films but also organize symposiums on animation features and lectures by international masters, revealing the secrets of puppet animation-making, etc. Through such events that go with the screenings, we hope to implant the beauty of animation deep within those who are interested in images.