About TIAF

The Taichung International Animation Festival (TIAF) is no stranger to animation professionals who have long followed major international festivals.

Back in 2003, under the initiative of then-Director Lee Tien-Yang of the Taiwan Film Archive (now Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute), the very first Taiwan International Animation Festival (TIAF) was launched. Gaining widespread acclaim, it was held annually for five years before coming to a close in 2008 as it grew in scale.

In 2015, Taichung City, envisioning itself as a “Creative City and Capital of Living,” placed audiovisual development at the core of its cultural blueprint. Alongside plans for Wufeng Film Base and Shuinan Film Center, the city introduced an international film festival with animation as its central theme, bringing TIAF back onto the global festival stage as a platform connecting Taiwanese animation with the international community.

Since 2017, the Taichung Film Development Foundation has taken over the festival, redefining its positioning with themed screening programs and launching the International Short Film Competition, including both a Professional and a Student category. To encourage local creativity, a “Taiwan Grand Prize” was added for each section, along with a series of educational outreach activities, further expanding TIAF’s role in showcasing diverse global animation to audiences in Taiwan.

In 2024, TIAF celebrated its 10th anniversary milestone by extending the festival to ten days, presenting over ten feature films and ten curated sections. To mark the occasion, it also introduced a new original IP character, the TaiChill Friends, inspired by Taichung’s cultural traits, inviting both filmmakers and audiences to join in a grand anniversary celebration.

Looking ahead, the 2025 TIAF will be held from October 11 to 18 at Taichung Taroko Mall Vieshow Cinemas. Entering its 11th edition with the theme “Animation, A World of Feeling,” the festival will debut its first-ever Feature Film Competition, drawing 2,879 submissions worldwide, with 68 works officially selected. Three distinctive opening and closing films will take audiences on a journey across emotions and cultures. In addition, TIAF joins hands with the French Office in Taipei and Gobelins Paris to offer exchange opportunities for Taiwanese students, while outdoor programs at Taichung Civic Square will turn the city into a vibrant stage for an international animation celebration.