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Taipei County joins with Taipei City for filmfest

Visitors to the Museum of Contemporary Art yesterday look at photos entered in the Taipei Image Award Competition, part of the Taipei Film Festival that will be held from June 22 to July 9 at Taipei County's Art and Culture Center Auditorium and at Taipei City's Zhongshan Hall, Metropolitan Hall and In89 Digital Cinema. PHOTO: CNA

Moviegoers will be able to watch Taiwanese and foreign films during the Taipei Film Festival in both Taipei City and Taipei County, as the two governments have joined efforts for the first time to expand the scope of the festival seeking to attract a bigger audience.

The Taipei Film Festival, which will be held from June 22 to July 9, sponsored by the Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs. The festival will celebrate its ninth year by showing 188 films at Taipei County's Art and Culture Center Auditorium as well as in Taipei Zhongshan Hall, Metropolitan Hall and In89 Digital Cinema.

188 submissions

Among the 188 films submitted, 12 films, six documentaries, six experimental films and seven animated films have been nominated for awards.

Each year, the festival features one or two cities as a focus for its "city vision." This year, the city in focus is Copenhagen.

Two Danish films from last year -- Clash of Egos, directed by Tomas Jensen, and After the Wedding, directed by Susanne Bier -- will be presented as the festival's opening and closing films.

As the festival generated more than NT$10 million (US$300,000) last year, Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Lee Yong-ping (李永萍) said the city government had formed a "Taipei Film Committee" to promote the filmmaking industry by providing local filmmakers with assistance to shoot films in the city.

Shooting in Taipei

"Hopefully the committee will also help to attract international filmmakers to shoot their films in Taipei, too," she said.

In addition to the film festival, the Taipei City Government will also work closely with the Taipei County Government to host other art and cultural events, including next year's Taiwan International Pottery Biennial and music exchange programs in schools.

For more information on the film festival, visit its official Web site at http://www.tiff.org.tw/2007/en/news_e.php.
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