The second biennial Taiwan International Documentary Festival (TIDF, 台灣國際紀錄片雙年展) is to include a new category called the Taiwan Prize (台灣獎) to reward the best local documentary.
The festival was first held in 1998 by the Executive Yuan's Council for Cultural Affairs (文建會) at the suggestion of DPP legislator Wang To (王拓), now president of the TIDF. It is organized this year by the Council for Cultural Affairs, the Taipei City Government and the Chinese Taipei Film Archive.
The event will run from Sept. 21 to Sept. 30. The films will be screened at Taipei City Hall, New York, New York Shopping Mall on Hsinyi Road and the nearby Warner Village Cinema Center. Over 400 documentaries from about 50 nations will be shown.
Competition for best picture will be undertaken in two categories, video and film. This year there are 18 videos and 20 films.
Speaking yesterday at a press conference, Wang made much of the fact that two local directors had made their way onto the final list of this year's film category.
The two directors are Tang Shiang-Chu (
The winner of the film category will collect NT$300,000 and that of the video category, NT$100,000.
The New Taiwanese Cultural Foundation (
Speaking at yesterday's press conference, Mayor Ma said, "`Cool' and amazing shots are absent in documentaries, which simply record society faithfully. Of course, NT$100,000 is not much, but it represents our appreciation of local directors' efforts."
Diane Weyermann, Executive Director of international financier George Soros' Soros Documentary Fund and Luciano Rigolini, commissioning editor of France's ARTE TV and one local representative (kept anonymous by TIDF) have been invited to serve as judges of the Taiwan Prize.
The festival will screen films in many categories, including children's subjects, 20th century masters, and one about last year's earthquake titled 921 Quake.
Just like the French Cinema Week of the Cannes Film Festival, the TIDF will include a category called Taiwan Focus devoted entirely to films about Taiwan by Taiwanese directors.
"Two years ago, the first TIDF attracted great international attention. This year, we have even more documentaries," said Wang.
Mayor Ma echoed Wang's words saying that documentaries could help future generations to understand the past.
"Although Taiwan's role in world affairs is constrained by China, our culture can still let our voice be heard in the world," he said.
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