The program also includes 10 films made by Taiwanese elemen-tary school students and their teachers. The collective works began when 10 film projects were selected in the spring. Both teachers and students attended a five-day workshop in the summer and were assisted by film professionals such as directors Cheng Wen-tang (鄭文堂), Jay Shih (石昌杰) and film professor Hsieh Chia-kuen (謝嘉錕) throughout the shooting and post-production. The results include a wild dream in the virtual worlds, a hermit crab hero that saves the world, a team of students who try to save the "ill" roads from traffic jams and an indigenous tribal school in Nantou.
On the festival's closing night, a jury made up of children will decide its favorite film out of the 10.
"When organizing a children's festival, we constantly ask ourselves what is a children's film? Are we imposing a grown-up's perspectives and values on untinged and tender minds? Through the program, we let the children express their own thoughts and ideas, realize their own imagination and creativity," Wang said.
From Jan. 22 through March 11, the Public Television Channel will air a selection of films from both the competition and curated sections which include the Folimage Animation Studio package, feature films Waterbomb for the Fat Tomcat and Viva Cuba, animation pieces Little Vampire Goes to School and Don't Push Your Luck, the documentary Behind the Mountains and much more.
For detailed information on films and screening schedules, visit the festival's bilingual Web site at www.tictff.org.tw.
But the best way to experience children's cinema is to go to the theaters and enjoy the films with young audience members. As Wang puts it, "You will be pleasantly surprised at what you can learn from viewing a movie with hundreds of children around you." Plus, you will be also doing a good deed while enjoying a good film, since all of the ticket receipts will be donated to the Children Welfare League Foundation (兒童福利聯盟) which aids the victims of child abuse and domestic violence.
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