Kang Gen-ho (康進和) couldn’t believe his ears when he heard the budget offered to him to make a full-length animated film: about NT$5 million. As a devout Buddhist, however, he did not want to turn down the Buddha Educational Foundation.
It was not the original plan, as Kang, an industry veteran who won best animation at the 1999 Golden Horse Awards with Kavalan Boy (少年噶瑪蘭), had first been approached to serve as a consultant for short animations of religious stories.
“I told them too many people were making these, and it would be a waste of time,” Kang says.
Photo courtesy of Kuandu International Animation Festival
Joanne Chao (趙瞬文), co-curator of the Kuandu International Animation Festival (關渡國際動畫節), which begins on Sunday and will screen one of Kang’s films, says on average it costs NT$60 million to make a small independent movie, which she says is far less than it would cost to make a full-length animated film.
Kang suggested making a feature film that would convey Buddhist teachings through true stories — such as one about his niece who was bullied at school and came from a broken family.
“Well, they asked me to do it. Then they asked if making a full-length animation was expensive,” he laughs.
Photo courtesy of Kuandu International Animation Festival
Kang decided to go with it, and this low-budget venture has generated two features in eight years, with the latest being Xiong and Siddartha (小雄與悉達多). However, not all aspiring filmmakers are able to pull off such a feat, and there is still a lack of investors and platforms for full-length animated features in Taiwan, says Chao.
Kang and other guest speakers such as Oscar winner Gabriel Osorio will be sharing their experiences and struggles at the festival, which has also set aside time for a forum to facilitate networking between animators and industry personnel.
LACK OF FUNDING
Photo courtesy of Kuandu International Animation Festival
Much of the lack of interest stems from the cost of making an animated feature, which is much higher than a regular independent movie.
Kang says while the experience has been rewarding — especially with Xiong making it to the second round of Golden Horse nominee selections — he might not have the energy to make a third one.
“I have experience and I know how to cut costs, so I am able to work with that budget,” Kang says. “But it’s exhausting,” adding that it took three and a half years to complete Xiong.
Photo courtesy of Kuandu International Animation Festival
Chao says because of these difficulties, Taiwan has yet to produce a financially successful full-length animated feature.
“There’s a lot of talent, but they usually produce animations for certain industries or companies,” she says. “And the ones who are really focusing on making their own productions mostly make shorts.”
Chao believes that it would just take one successful venture to persuade more people to invest. With a compelling script, a feasible method would be to first raise NT$30 million for pre-production so there would be more material to attract further backers.
“There are a few productions in the works this year,” Chao says. “I hope to hear good news.”
LESS HOLLYWOOD
Meanwhile, Kang and Chao continue to cultivate young talent at National Taiwan University of Arts (NTUA) animation department, whose students and staff are the main muscle in putting the animation festival together.
Through running the show and attending workshops, the students have a chance to interact closely with international masters, which was the original idea behind the festival, Chao says.
After being a bit overwhelmed last year, the festival departs from the “Hollywood leanings” and returns to a more independent spirit with a focus on European cinema. But despite the scaling down, they received more than twice as many submissions this year with over 3,000, of which about 120 will be shown.
In addition to the KuanDog Prize competition films, the festival will feature programs from Taiwan, France, China, South Korea and Spain as well as NTUA student work.
The Spain program is especially extensive, where the entire From Doodles to Pixels: Over A Hundred Years of Spanish Animation traveling series will be screened.
“We only wanted one program, but the curator insisted that we show all eight,” Chao says.
Visit kdiaf.tnua.edu.tw/en to view the full schedule.
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