A fine selection of acclaimed international movies about and for kids will make it to the Taiwan International Children’s Film Festival (台灣國際兒童影展), set to open Thursday at Vieshow Cinemas Taipei Xinyi (台北信義威秀影城).
The lineup includes nearly 100 fictional, animated, documentary and short films, as well as television programs, from over 30 countries.
There is an international competition, which received a record-breaking 1,324 entries from 101 countries. Among the 24 finalists, there are many works which have already garnered international acclaim.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan International Children’s Film Festival
The Chicken from Croatia, for example, won Best European Short Film at the prestigious European Film Awards in 2014 with a heartwarming story about a girl trying to save her chicken from being killed by her family.
Set during the German occupation of the Netherlands, Secrets of War revolves around the friendship between two boys, one of whom is the son of liberals who help the Resistance, and the other is the son of a collaborator. The feature film won top honor at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival in 2014.
“I think it shows that our festival has successfully gained global recognition,” says Jessie Shih (施悅文), the festival’s convener.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan International Children’s Film Festival
“When we talk about children’s films, there are mostly animations from Hollywood and Japan... [and so] we try to be more diverse,” she says.
Shi said works from southern Europe, South America and the Middle East will be shown.
‘EQUAL AND DIFFERENT’
Photo courtesy of Taiwan International Children’s Film Festival
This year’s theme, “equal and different,” encourages youngsters to respect differences and take the initiative to fulfill their goals.
Lola on the Pea, for example, tells the story of an introverted girl taking action to help her Kurdish friend, a refugee boy living illegally in Germany, when the boy’s mother falls ill.
Refugees are also explored in Aurora Borealis, which centers on Emina, a nine-year old refugee from Bosnia now living in Norway, and her search for her father missing in Bosnia.
On a lighter note, Oddball is based on a true story about a little girl and her grandfather’s endeavor to save the disappearing penguins on their island, with the help of the family’s sheep dog.
While children are the festival’s target demographic, it does not shy away from serious topics such as life and death.
A Single Life, for example, tells the story of a young woman who gains the power to travel through her life when she plays a mysterious vinyl single. The work was nominated for best animated short film at the Academy Awards last year.
Apart from screenings, several international directors and other film professionals will attend the festival.
Milos Stehlik, director of the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, British director Vaughn Stein and Brazil filmmaker Cassio Pereira dos Santos will all attend.
For more information, visit the festival’s bilingual Web site at www.ticff.org.tw.
Sept.16 to Sept. 22 The “anti-communist train” with then-president Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) face plastered on the engine puffed along the “sugar railway” (糖業鐵路) in May 1955, drawing enthusiastic crowds at 103 stops covering nearly 1,200km. An estimated 1.58 million spectators were treated to propaganda films, plays and received free sugar products. By this time, the state-run Taiwan Sugar Corporation (台糖, Taisugar) had managed to connect the previously separate east-west lines established by Japanese-era sugar factories, allowing the anti-communist train to travel easily from Taichung to Pingtung’s Donggang Township (東港). Last Sunday’s feature (Taiwan in Time: The sugar express) covered the inauguration of the
The corruption cases surrounding former Taipei Mayor and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) head Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) are just one item in the endless cycle of noise and fuss obscuring Taiwan’s deep and urgent structural and social problems. Even the case itself, as James Baron observed in an excellent piece at the Diplomat last week, is only one manifestation of the greater problem of deep-rooted corruption in land development. Last week the government announced a program to permit 25,000 foreign university students, primarily from the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, to work in Taiwan after graduation for 2-4 years. That number is a
In a stark demonstration of how award-winning breakthroughs can come from the most unlikely directions, researchers have won an Ig Nobel prize for discovering that mammals can breathe through their anuses. After a series of tests on mice, rats and pigs, Japanese scientists found the animals absorb oxygen delivered through the rectum, work that underpins a clinical trial to see whether the procedure can treat respiratory failure. The team is among 10 recognized in this year’s Ig Nobel awards (see below for more), the irreverent accolades given for achievements that “first make people laugh, and then make them think.” They are not
This Qing Dynasty trail takes hikers from renowned hot springs in the East Rift Valley, up to the top of the Coastal Mountain Range, and down to the Pacific Short vacations to eastern Taiwan often require choosing between the Rift Valley with its pineapple fields, rice paddies and broader range of amenities, or the less populated coastal route for its ocean scenery. For those who can’t decide, why not try both? The Antong Traversing Trail (安通越嶺道) provides just such an opportunity. Built 149 years ago, the trail linked up these two formerly isolated parts of the island by crossing over the Coastal Mountain Range. After decades of serving as a convenient path for local Amis, Han settlers, missionaries and smugglers, the trail fell into disuse once modern roadways were built