Taiwanese features "Baryon" and "A Dog's Life" as Opening and Closing films
TIAF announces that both the opening and closing films this year are Taiwanese animations scheduled to be screened in October in Taichung
The Festival opens with “Baryon”, a sci-fi set in the near future and closes with “A Dog’s Life”, which signifies veteran filmmaker Chang Yi’s return to cinema
Supervised by the Taichung City Government and held by the Taichung Film Development Foundation, the 2018 Taichung International Animation Festival (TIAF) hosts a press conference today (14th September), announcing the opening and closing films as well as ticket sales. Taichung City Mayer Lin Chia-lung, program director C. Jay Shih, director of Baryon Jo-Jo Hwang and producer of A Dog’s Life Yu Wei-yen attend the press conference, revealing that both the opening and closing films are Taiwanese animations. The tickets will go on sale on 21st September, and we would like to invite the audience to this annual international animation festival at Taichung Showtime Cinemas S2 and Kbro Cinemas between October 11th and 16th.
Program director C. Jay Shih expresses that since he became the program director of the TIAF last year, he has aimed to show the Taichung residents more diverse and innovative films and to catch up with the latest trends around the world in order to turn the TIAF into the most important animation platform in Taiwan. Inspired by the theme, “Fantasy and Reality”, the 2018 TIAF holds 72 screenings, showing 241 films from 51 countries and regions. Moreover, the introduction to the program, lectures for professionals and project pitching will be held during the festival. We hope that the films and events will lead the audience into the animation world, in which the boundary between the reality and fantasy is blurred.
Taking years to make, director Jo-jo Hwang aims to show Taiwanese animation to the world with “Baryon”
Baryon, selected as the 2018 TIAF opening film, is co-directed by Jo-Jo Hwang and Mo Monster. Since the project was announced back in 2014, it has attracted a lot of attention from the Taiwanese animation and manga fans. Director Hwang expresses that starting from the release of its teaser trailer to crowdfunding, the film finally opens in October this year. It took him four years to make, and during this period, he had encountered numerous problems and difficulties, which were eventually overcome by team effort. At the press conference, Hwang says that he himself has a strong connection to Taichung; apart from having lived in Taichung for four years when he was a student, the film had received support from Taichung City. As a result, Baryon is set in Taichung, and Tunghai University also plays an important role in the story.
Set in the near future, Baryon tells the story that one day, countless laser rays shoot down from the sky and destroy all the countries with the strongest military strength. Facing such a dire situation and isolation, how can Taiwan survive while fighting against a ferocious sea monster underneath the island? Not only the film is packed with wild imagination but also the protagonist serves a metaphor for the political situation in Taiwan. Baryon is a production made by a group of young Taiwanese talent, and therefore Hwang urges the audience to see the film to support Taiwanese animation.
The TIAF closes with moving tales from Chang Yi’s “A Dog’s Life”, a promise to late Edward Yang
The 2018 TIAF closes with A Dog’s Life by veteran director Chang Yi, who returns to cinema with an animated film. A Dog’s Life is Chang Yi’s first animation feature; years ago, Chang Yi and Edward Yang made a promise to each other that they would made an animated film together, but it was very sad that Edward Yang died in 2007. Years after, Chang Yi has finally finished A Dog’s Life, which consists of four short animations. Producer Yu Wei-yen, who attends the press conference is not only an experienced director himself but had collaborated with Edward Yang on A Brighter Summer Day, A Confucian Confusion and A One and a Two. He expressed that both on and off the screen, A Dog’s Life is full of moving tales.
In the past year, A Dog’s Life has been screened at several international film festivals. Yu explains that the stories are based on the true events that happened to their friends and their dogs. From the development, the discussion with Chang Yi to the production, it took the whole team almost ten years to finish the project. Through the four stories of the dogs and their owners, they hope that the audience will not only feel the moving moments when facing love and separation in life but appreciate the time we spend with our loved ones.
The 2018 TIAF is held between October 11th (Thursday) and 16th (Tuesday) at Taichung Showtime Cinemas S2 and Kbro Cinemas. The tickets will go on sale at 12.00 pm on September 21st (Friday) on ibon machines nationwide and the website. In addition to the films shown during the festival, several free outdoor screenings, introductory talks in schools and international seminars are held. For more information on the program and events, please visit the TIAF official website (twtiaf.com) and Facebook fan page (facebook.com/tiaf.taichung).
