About TIAF

The Taichung International Animation Festival (TIAF) is a familiar name to animation professionals who have long participated in or followed major international animation festivals.

In 2003, under the initiative of then-Director Lee Tien-Yang of the Taiwan Film Archive (now the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute), the first Taiwan International Animation Festival (TIAF) was launched. Widely acclaimed, it was held annually for five years before coming to a close in 2008, just as it was beginning to establish itself.

In 2015, Taichung City, envisioning itself as a “Creative City and Capital of Living,” placed film and audiovisual development at the heart of its cultural blueprint. Alongside plans for Wufeng Film Base and Shuinan Film Center, the city launched the first Taichung International Animation Festival, choosing animation as the central theme of its city film festival. This brought TIAF back onto the global animation festival stage, restoring its role as a platform connecting Taiwanese animation with the international community.

Since 2017, the Taichung Film Development Foundation has organized TIAF, redefining its positioning and introducing themed screening programs. That year also marked the launch of its international competition, with separate Short Film and Student Short Film categories. A Taiwan Grand Prize was established in each category to encourage original Taiwanese animation. Alongside a series of animation education and outreach activities, these initiatives bring the diversity of animation from around the world to Taiwan, offering local audiences an international showcase of animation as an art form.

After navigating the pandemic, TIAF celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2024 by extending the festival to ten days and presenting an expanded lineup of more than ten feature films and ten curated sections. The festival also introduced TaiChill Friends, a new cast of original characters inspired by Taichung’s local specialties and distinctive cultural features, inviting fans to join the anniversary celebration. Entering its 11th edition in 2025, TIAF expanded beyond its traditional focus on animated shorts by introducing a Feature Film Competition, creating a new platform for feature animation filmmakers worldwide to compete and showcase their work.

The 2026 Taichung International Animation Festival will take place from October 3 to 10 at Vieshow Cinemas in Taichung iFG Farglory Square. Now in its 12th edition, the festival embraces the theme “VIBE” and continues its international exchange program with Gobelins Paris, offering Taiwanese animation students opportunities to study and connect with peers in France. This year also marks the festival’s first invitation to representatives from France’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Canada’s Ottawa International Animation Festival to visit Taiwan for an exchange. Through international programming collaborations, film screenings, talks, and discussions, TIAF will strengthen ties between Taiwan and the global animation community, creating an animation celebration that combines an international outlook with Taichung’s distinctive local character.